Second Glance
by downpours
Summary: An Assassin Cross and Priestess who just don't get along keep getting played with by fate. He was a challenge she didn't want to accept, yet she's slowly figuring him out anyway. CHAPTER FIFTEEN UPLOADED. DONE, FINALLY!
1. Stern Eyes

_**Second Glance**_

She was nothing special. A young teenaged girl, a bit clumsy, but just as sharp and witty as anyone else. She didn't stand out like the city's most beautiful, but she was just as attractive as they were. Maybe if she just let people see her face more, her name would be more known. But, no, she was just a simple and young priestess living in the magical town of Geffen.

Even he didn't see her coming. She had blended in so well with her surroundings that it was so difficult to see her. He was just sitting on a bench, face burrowed depressingly in his gloved hands. The teenaged boy was such a miserable sight to see. Really, who would expect an assassin cross out in the open, mourning over something only he knew about?

Not that it was such a big deal. The sun was setting, and everyone was getting ready to go home for the night, save for the nocturnes that were waiting to get their beer. An assassin cross really wasn't such a strange sight to see—unless they were doing a job, then that's when you're supposed to run away.

"Are you alright?" The teenager, shocked, budged a bit as he felt a soft hand graze his shoulder. He wasn't used to being touched. He looked up crossly at the owner of the hand.

A young priestess that was no older than seventeen summers. Her eyes were hazel light and looked at him in a confused manner, and she had a frown he couldn't understand. Her blonde hair sprayed over her shoulders as she leaned down and peered into his disturbed eyes.

"What do you want?" He asked her crossly. The boy hated being disturbed, even by those who meant well.

"Nothing." She smiled at him. Even she didn't know why she had approached him. Something about him just called out to her. Maybe it was her obsessive need to help out anyone who was hurt, physically or emotionally, she didn't know. And to her, he looked hurt a lot; emotionally. "Do you want company?"

He looked at her like she had just said the hugest blasphemy on the face of Midgard.

"It's that you looked so sad, I thought you might want someone to talk to."

He was wrong. _That_ was the hugest blasphemy on the face of Midgard.

The assassin cross stood up abruptly, dominating her with his height. He peered down at her through stern black eyes. "Listen here. I do _not _get… sad." He said the last word with disgust as if he had never even used it before.

The priestess nodded slowly as she looked up at him. She looked hurt, but she didn't want to tell him. She only wanted to help in the first place, but she found that it wasn't needed at all. "Alright." The priestess said to him.

"Cain." A voice from behind the priestess called. The priestess turned around to see another assassin cross standing there. For a second, she shook in her shoes as she saw the menacing stares they had. The other assassin cross continued talking, "We have to go."

The priestess took in a sharp breath as she was rudely pushed aside by the assassin she was trying to help earlier. He walked pass her without even an inch of apology. She stared at him crossly as the two of them walked away. The name "Cain" would forever be marked down on her mind.

Her and her stupid ideas. What was she thinking, trying to cheer up a depressed assassin cross? He had way too much pride. The stupid guy wouldn't even admit that he looked problematic. Arrogance was something that annoyed her.

The priestess started walking away, putting the event behind her. There really was no point in dwelling in something so pointless, right?

"Cain?" A voice called out to his partner. Cain was standing still in one place, eyes transfixed on the girl who was walking away. "Who is she in the first place?"

He snapped out of his reverie and stared at his partner. "Don't know, don't care."

His partner shrugged, dismissing the issue. He knew how closed up Cain could become, and pushing further on an issue was so pointless. Nevertheless, this was the first he had seen him show even just the slightest bit of interest towards a stranger.

"Seth, what are we supposed to do now?" Cain asked him partner with a bit of grimace in his voice. He watched as Seth rummaged through his scarf and brought out a picture that was snatched away from him so that Cain could get a better look.

It was a candid shot of a teenaged boy about their age. He actually looked familiar, but Cain couldn't place where he had seen that face before. Well, it didn't matter. It would all be over in an instance.

"Who is this?" Cain asked.

Seth shrugged lightly, taking the picture back. "Some guy who's in Al de Baran. Nobody really told me the reason, but then again, they never do. He's just a first of two that we got ordered to take away."

"Alright." Cain replied bluntly.

……………

It was around early morning when Mina suddenly woke up with a start. She didn't know why, but it was like her heart was suddenly ripped into pieces. It was the most excruciating experience she had ever been through. The priestess clutched her chest through the shirt she was wearing and her tongue met a metallic taste that she recognized almost instantly.

Blood? Why? But she didn't cough up anything, and the taste disappeared as easily as it had come. She looked outside the window, and everything seemed normal. The streets were quiet, and even the nightly drunkards had already turned in. Mina stood up and opened the window to breathe in fresh air, and leaned on the wooden ledge for support.

This was so odd. She was a very heavy sleeper, and nothing really woke her up. Now, she had just woken up to the strangest feeling and for no apparent reason. She stared out to the quiet street, preferring it to the bustling way it was during the day. The priestess's eyes widened when she saw a staggering form being held up by another man.

_It's that guy from before…_ She almost fell out of the window in shock.

"You!" Seth snarled up at Mina. "You're a priestess, right?"

"Y-yes." Mina replied.

"Then get down here and help him out."

Mina hesitated. She didn't know if it was a good idea to get involved with assassin crosses. I mean, who knows why they were in a position like this in the first place?

This wasn't the time to doubt, though. She grabbed a coat and stormed out of her apartment and down the stairs and finally, out the door. Her breath made clouds of mist in the freezing air as she panted.

"What happened?" She asked Cain's partner, Seth, as she kneeled down to try and support the assassin cross who was so grouchy with her before, but was now unconscious.

"I apologize, but that's none of your business." Seth replied, trying to muster a smile.

Mina nodded, trying her best to understand. Assassins were naturally secretive. It was his or her job to kill, and she as a priestess didn't approve to that, but she also wouldn't turn down helping someone in pain. Bruises were on his face and a huge gash caused blood to drench his clothes.

"What's your name?" Seth kneeled down to get a better view of the priestess. Mina instinctively blushed as her blonde hair was tucked behind her ears so that the assassin cross could peer into her face.

"Mina." She replied bluntly, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

"Mina." He repeated. "My name's Seth, and this is Cain."

The priestess nodded in reply, even though she had already overheard Cain's name before.

"Will you do me a favor? I promise you'll be greatly paid back…" He whispered, as if anybody could hear them in the dead of night.

"What is it?"

"Take him in, heal him and all." Seth continued. "I can't bring him with me in this condition. I'll be back tomorrow. If you must know, we're in a terrible situation right now."

Mina gulped a knot in her throat and nervously asked, "Why should I?"

"Why?" Seth smiled. "Because I can kill you."

The priestess tried to back away from shock, but Seth chuckled and held her shoulders tightly. "I'm joking, but I really need this favor."

Silence.

"Alright." She replied, before he briefed her more on what she really needed to do.

……………

Mina paced around her room nervously, biting her fingernails in the process. Hazel eyes were furrowed into seriousness, and she occasionally glanced at the unconscious man on her bed. He was the assassin cross from before, except this time, his whole upper body was wrapped in bandages.

Of course she hadn't done that—Seth had help her with the "difficult" matters before going off to whatever business he had to attend to.

Still, what was Mina to do? There was a half-naked assassin cross on her bed. And not just any cross, but the one she had sworn never to help out just before. She glanced at him again and studied his features. He had messy black hair, and his whole body was covered in scars. His wounds were now healed, thanks to her, but she was told that he was terribly exhausted and healing the wounds wouldn't be enough at the moment. Just wait for him to awaken.

Mina growled under her breath. _She_ was also exhausted. Try healing that much wounds, and I'm sure you would be too. How could she rest, though? _There was a half-naked man on her bed!_

The priestess almost jumped out of her skin when a muffled "What the hell…" shook her out of her reverie. She looked over to her bed to see Cain sitting up straight, trying to take in where he was.

"H-hi…" Mina said softly, waving her hand.

She was met with an icy stare. "You." He said bluntly.

"Me…" Mina replied. "Uhm, so, your partner, Seth was his name, I think? Said that you should just stay here until he gets back with some kind of special antidote—"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cain growled. He tried to stand up but was met by a throbbing pain on his back and was forced to lie back down.

"He said it's some new kind of poison that even he doesn't have the antidote to…" Mina continued, ignoring the painful look on his face. "You should just quit moving, so it wouldn't spread."

Cain didn't reply. He simply stared at the wall.

"Sorry." Mina said bluntly.

Silence.

Mina scratched the back of her head uncomfortably.

"What's your name?" Cain asked softly.

The priestess blinked. Was he interested in her, even just a little bit? "My name's Mina."

"Thanks…"

A tinge of red met Mina's cheeks. So he _was _capable of emotion, he was probably just shy and had a hard time showing of his gratitude. It was kind of cute, actual—

"…for being so useless. What kind of priestess are you? Can't even help me out here."

Mina sent a mental note to her brain – _Strangle him in his sleep._

To Be Continued 

_A/N – I knoooow, assassin/priestess, yin/yang, bad/good… Cliché-ness is fine with me, though. I find it very amusing, but if you don't like it, nobody's forcing you. But if you're reading this right now, then that means you read through it anyway or simply just scrolled down for some weird reason._

_I would like to thank Allan for greatly contributing in names… and title. XD_

_-Xiel_


	2. Death of a Prince

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Two**_

A lot of people who knew a young priestess who went by the name of Mina would know that she was one of the few kind-hearted people left alive. She was almost perfect in every aspect—she was beautiful, quick thinking, and had a pleasant personality. Even though she had the looks of royalty, her simplicity quickly gave people another impression. Yes, Mina was almost perfect, but once in awhile, something challenged even the most tranquil seas.

And it just so happened that this _something_ was an assassin cross.

"What the heck is wrong with you? Comodo is the best spot for vacations!" Mina exclaimed. She didn't even know how the topic came to something so farfetched, but when she heard her favorite place get insulted, she just couldn't resist retorting.

Cain rolled his eyes and sat with his back gingerly placed on the wall. He was still having a hard time moving around, which was making him grouchier than ever. It was already a morning after, and he felt even more terrible. If his partner didn't come back soon with an antidote, he swore someone would pay, either innocent or not.

"Juno's the best place." Cain said bluntly. "It's quiet, it's classy, and it's not some partying town with annoying pink sand and perky dancers."

Mina flinched. She wanted to punch him, but she knew she had no strength and would probably pay dearly for it later. Really, this man in front of her had no sense of gratitude.

The priestess had grabbed a chair and was sitting down on it, and it was faced towards her bed, which the assassin cross was on. It was as if she was guarding him so intently, refusing to let him do anything, even though he didn't have the ability to in the first place.

Cain forgot about the poison momentarily and tried to reach his hand up to his hair, when pain struck his spine instantly. Mina smiled with unintentional satisfaction as his eyes widened with pain, and he grit his teeth. He stared at her, obviously seething at her expression.

"Nice to see you're enjoying this." He snarled.

"Yes, thank you."

He gave her a menacing glare and her expression dissolved from happy to nervous. His stare was so intense that it almost made her heart stop beating in an instant, and she wondered that if he had enough power to do that with a glare, what more if he had weapons with him on a battlefield?

"Fine!" She said out loud, stretching her hands in front of her. "I can slow the effect of the poison for now, but only if you swear to say Comodo's better than Juno."

He stared at her and stated the obvious - "You could have done that before."

"Yes, but I hate you." She replied bluntly.

Cain didn't reply and shifted his view from her to the wall. "I can't believe you would prioritize hate to saving a life. Just what kind of priestess are you?"

"You're one to talk." Mina replied with sarcasm. "You don't exactly _save_ lives, after all."

Cain shrugged, and pain shot up his back again. It was starting to get tiring, and it annoyed him even more. He cursed under his breath about useless partners. Mina sat down beside him and placed her hands a couple of inches away from him and started chanting something.

The assassin peered at her from the corner of his eye. Her hazel eyes were tightly shut as she chanted with seriousness. He felt some sort of warm presence enveloped him, and the pain gradually got better, but it was still there. He had to admit; it did help, even for just a bit. He didn't really mean to, but he found himself starting at her features and realizing something.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

Mina opened her eyes and stared at him with disbelief. "Yes, you know me. You shunned me in the fountains yesterday, then you've been in my room since last night."

Cain glared at her with silent rage but didn't see the need to reply. He did have even just a tiny speck of gratitude even though he didn't want to admit it. She did, after all, help him out, and he could cut her a little slack.

"Better?" She asked out loud, snapping him out of his reverie. What she did next was more of a habit – she slapped his back in question. The young priestess flinched as she saw the assassin cross wince in pain. Her supposedly comforting gesture had come off as painful; after all, the poison was still in effect.

"Yeah." He mumbled under his breath.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't." Cain replied, quick and plain.

Mina nodded, a pout displayed on her lips. They sat there in silence, not really saying anything. Finally, Cain spoke up and asked a question that caught Mina off-guard.

"What are you so upset about?"

Mina began stuttering. "I'm not!"

"If you say so."

"Look here, don't act all sarcastic on me; when I say I'm not up—"

"What's this? Lover's quarrel?"

The young priestess gave a loud shriek. On the open window beside the bed suddenly appeared an assassin who had perched himself on the ledge with no noise to even warn the priestess. With perfect stealth, he had found a way to surprise every cell in Mina's body.

It wasn't Mina who was surprised the most by the incident, though. Cain's eyes widened in surprise as the priestess tightly wrapped her arms around him and buried her face on his shoulder. He cried out in pain as the poison was triggered once again, and it would have hurt even more if she hadn't cast the spell on him previously.

"Hah. Am I interfering?" Seth asked with a cocky grin, and to add more to the situation, he gave his partner a suggestive wink.

Mina seemed to be oblivious to the current situation. She was shaking and still had her arms around him tightly, her face buried to wipe out vision, and mentally drowning out sound.

"Mighty frail, isn't she?" Seth mused. He reached over and stroked her hair. "Miss Mina, it's only me. I'm sorry for shocking you."

She slowly came to her senses and peered to reality. Her expression went immediately from frightened to embarrassed. With a quick apologizing gesture, she scampered to the edge of the bed and stared at the door.

"Here's the antidote." Seth said, handing a vial to his partner. Without even the least bit of hesitation, Cain popped it open and gulped down the contents. He had a foul expression when he put it down, probably cursing the very bitter taste it gave.

"What the hell is this?" Cain snapped. His reflexes were getting back to normal, though.

"Shut up! I had to go through so much bull just to get you that…!" His partner replied.

The two of them went on arguing, something, which seemed to be normal, since they were both accustomed to it. They almost forgot that there was another person in the room, who was seated with her back to them.

The two of them glanced at her fidgeting back, and Seth swore he saw a momentary blush creep to Cain's cheeks.

Cain watched as Seth started to speak to Mina.

"Dear, don't worry about it. I know you regret hugging him, but everyone, at least once in their life, wants to kill their selves for doing something so incredibly idiotic."

"…Eh?" Mina blinked, arching her head slightly and staring at Seth ludicrously.

"I said, thanks for everything, I really appreciate it, and I'm sure Cain does so too." Seth grinned at her. "Now we'll be going, and you go back to acting as if nothing ever happened, because if you don't, we'll seriously have to do something about it."

Mina stared at him, knowing fully well what he meant by that. She didn't say anything—she just stared at him.

"Cain, let's go."

"Yeah, whatever." Cain mumbled. Seth winked at Mina and jumped out the window. Mina stared at his retreating form, then looked at Cain, who was staring back at her.

That's all they did: stared.

"Bye." He said bluntly.

Mina, with expressional disbelief, watched him disappear in what seemed to be a second. Her eyes didn't even catch a glimpse of him go, though she knew Assassin Crosses had the power to conceal themselves in a second.

The priestess snarled and rushed to the window, looking outside. No sight of them; looking down was the busy street of Geffen, all acting normal as if two hadn't just jumped out of that certain window.

_The nerve of that guy! Of those TWO guys! I had him over for a night, and I don't even get a thank you—I get a threat. Assassin crosses suck. Really, they do._

"Mina."

A voice snapped her out of her reverie. A face, upside down, faced hers. He was just a couple of inches away from her, and she could practically feel his warm breathing on her cheeks. She fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Thanks." He said simply.

Within another moment, he was gone again; except this time, Mina didn't loathe him as much.

……………

For a week, Mina went on with her life as she normally would. She did odd jobs here and there to earn a living, she chatted with random acquaintances, and of course, she helped out where she was needed. As she walked by the center of Geffen, she noticed a crowd surrounding a notice.

She crept up, curious to what it said. She heard people rambling around her.

The prince had died. Mina didn't care; she wasn't too fond of him anyway. He was arrogant and selfish. It said there that he was on vacation in Al de Baran when he was assassinated a week ago. This brought a thought to Mina's; the incident with the two assassins had also happened a week ago. What a coincidence, right?

Her eyes scanned down to the picture, a blonde teenaged boy. His face was familiar, but that was because they had the same features. She had often got teased before by people that was probably his princess, but she was an orphan who knew it was just a coincidence.

The funeral would be in a few days, in the church of Prontera. As a priestess who graduated from there, she knew it was her obligation to attend, and as much as she hated the said prince, her responsibilities always came first.

She was visiting Prontera in a week.

**To Be Continued **


	3. Alcohol

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Three**_

"With great agony, we now begin the funeral ceremonies for our beloved Prince Michael the Third, the only child and son of King Tristan. He died at the age of twenty, caused by means of murder. Two masked assassins, which two bodyguards also died to try to stop them, attacked him. Everything was futile, since the assassins soon after fled, leaving only a few witnesses. Here lays the body of the beloved Prince, respected for morality and charity—"

The announcer had to pause for a while and look at some people who were making clucking noises, obviously disagreeing to the last statement. The announcer coughed twice to regain the attentive silence he needed. Behind him was a coffin lined with silver and royal red. King Tristan wasn't even there; he was too old and ill to attend his son's funeral.

"…respected for morality and charity, an icon for excellence and integrity, so wrongfully robbed of his time on this life. Let us all please stand in prayer for the beloved Prince."

Mina rolled her eyes and stood up as everyone else did. It was just too robotic, not a lot of people were even paying attention. These royal icons could say whatever they wanted to, but bottom line was, Prince Michael was arrogant and everyone hated him for his selfishness.

As a servant of the Church of Prontera, it was her obligation to attend the funeral, as much to her disdain. She joined in prayer, gave her offering, and talked to people she knew from before.

There were only two people there that stood out, though. Her two best friends in the world – Maki and Rai. Maki was a respectable crusader, older than Rai and Mina. He was tall and clever and kept up to his reputation. Rai, on the other hand, was a young carefree dancer whom everyone just adored. The three of them made a team every chance they could get, and they were the favorite people of Mina.

"Minaaa!" Rai said cheerfully, embracing the priestess tightly. It had been months since they had seen each other. She angrily shushed the people who clucked at her noisiness in the middle of a funeral. In fairness, she didn't care about the late Prince in any way.

"Hey, Mina." Maki said, giving Mina a smile. Mina smiled at them genuinely.

"I didn't know you guys would be here!" Mina exclaimed, excitement obvious. That was the last straw. The few who actually went there to truthfully respect the Prince pushed them out of the church. Rai simply stuck her tongue out at the people who made an effort to get the group of three out, while Maki looked embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

The three of them walked around the streets of Prontera, catching up on each other. Rai and Maki had been traveling together since they last saw Mina, who had chose to stay in her home in Geffen. Mina really missed the two – she gladly reminisced traveling to all sorts of places with them.

"Where are you staying, Mina?" The crusader asked her.

"Not sure." Mina shrugged. "I might warp back to Geffen. All the inns here are full."

Rai cursed under her breath about ignorant people who attended the funeral even though they knew nothing about the prince. Maki ignored her and continued talked to Mina, "You can bulk over at my place, if you want. You can stay in the guest room with Rai."

Mina's eyes widened. "You have a place here?"

"Well, yeah." Maki replied sheepishly. "It's quite small, sorry."

"It's in the dark parts of the city." Rai commented. "So don't go out at night unless you want something very horrible to happen."

Mina gave out a tiny uncomfortable sound and agreed to what they said. It would be nice to be together again, after all.

They spent the whole day together, reminiscing over and over again. Mina was getting a bit uncomfortable at the unusual stares she got from Maki, but brushed it away as fast as she could. Even though they were supposed to be mourning, they partied like there was a festival. It was already nearing evening when they walked to Maki's place.

It really was a dark alley going to the entrance to his place. His place was actually a two-room apartment in a run-down building. They passed by a drunkard who Rai suddenly avoided by leaping to the right. Mina blinked and walked pass him like normal, and Rai's warning signs didn't register to her mind.

"Well, lookie at this nice piece of ass. And a face which looks like the dead prince!"

Mina shrieked as she felt a hand suddenly press against her bottom, and she instantly understood what Rai was trying to say. The old drunkard was a pervert who couldn't resist a touch to flesh.

"Quit it." Maki mumbled, shoving the old man away from Mina. He was roughly pushed to the brick wall, and he yelped in both surprise and pain. Mina looked shocked at this sudden brutality.

"Maki!" Mina called out as she and Rai followed him inside his apartment. "I know what he did was really gross, but don't you think pushing that old man like that was kind of unnecessary?"

"He disgusts me." Maki said simply.

"He was drunk…" Mina whispered, her eyebrows furrowing in worry. "He might have gotten really hurt."

"Well, he didn't."

Mina stood there, aghast. Maki wasn't like that the last time they had been together. He seemed a bit different now, and she couldn't tell why. The awkward silence was soon broken by the voice of Rai.

"You really do look like Prince Michael!" She said cheerfully; this was something that was pointed out tons of times before. She was replied with stares from both Maki and Mina. "No, really!" She continued. "I bet if you put your hair up and lost the almost non-existent breasts, you'd be a carbon copy."

Mina immediately went red with Rai's comment, and that's when Maki decided this wasn't a conversation he had to participate in. He stuttered for a while and finally gave up, walking to his room.

"Raiiii!" Mina hissed. Rai was a very frank girl and open about almost everything, and she never seemed to realize that some people just weren't like her. Pointing out the breasts of a girl was something that embarrassed most people.

"I'm serious though." Rai said, pouting and crossing her arms.

"It's nothing relevant!" Mina retorted. Rai grinned and nodded, assuming that it probably was. Mina smiled at her friend and looked down from the window, something that she did a lot.

Mina listened to Rai ranting about something, but she wasn't exactly paying attention. What she was paying attention to was a bar down the alley street that was really rowdy. The noise annoyed her. The people there seemed to be really enjoying their selves. From across the building, the old man was waving a beer bottle up at her with a huge smile.

The priestess's eyes widened. He had blood gushing out from his forehead. _Did that come from Maki's shove?_ She couldn't believe it. Maki wasn't this heartless before. Mina turned around and started walking towards the door.

"Mina, where are you going…?" Rai asked.

"Out. I'll be back."

Rai looked at her back, shocked. "Maki would be furious! Maybe you should ask him to go with you."

"I can take care of myself." Mina said, grinning at her. "Just please let me be, Rai. Thanks."

The dancer sighed and watched Mina's retreating back. She knew her friend well – it was very difficult to change her decision once it was made.

Mina, determined to do what she wanted, stepped out of the building after walking down steps pf concrete. The old man gave her an awkward smile. He didn't even seem to mind the wound, as if the alcohol made him forget _everything._

"Are you alright?" Mina asked him, swapping his groping hand away. She stared at the wound on his forehead.

"Well, ain't you a saint." He said with a huge grin. Most of his teeth were missing.

"Was that because my friend pushed you? I'm sorry, he did that for me." She continued, raising a hand and chanting spells to heal the wound. She stayed a distance away, avoiding giving him any easy groping targets.

"Nope!" The old man said cheerfully as the wound healed slowly. "Them guys," He pointed at the rowdy bar. "Said I was a pi'z of ga'bage and rammed me at the wall. Y'o friend really didn't hurt me, I swear, he does that every time I try to grope your dancer friend."

Mina blinked and put her hand down. The wound was healed, and she took the old man's futile attempt to reach her chest as a sign of gratitude. It was disrespectful, but what else could you expect from a drunken man?

"Hey, boss, someone helped out of the piece of garbage!" A stalker yelled out. He staggered into the alley and grinned at Mina. "And she's pretty!"

A couple of other men from the bar peeked out, most of them drunk to the point of uselessness. Mina eyed them irritably. It surprised her that the old man was actually cowering at the sight of them. This probably wasn't the first time he was beaten up by this group.

"Hey." One of the men exclaimed. "She looks just like the dead prince! Hey, boss, check this out!"

Mina's eyes widened as a huge blacksmith pushed them away to get a better view. His face was coarse and ugly, and the old man was cowering more than ever now. The boss-blacksmith spit on the street and stared at her. His expression was unexplainable.

"Get away, little girl!" The old man cowered.

Mina gasped as the old man was suddenly kicked by one of the men.

"You jerks!" Mina shrieked at them. "He isn't doing anything to you!"

The huge blacksmith stared at her with angry eyes.

"Grab her."

Mina started struggling when the stalker suddenly grabbed the collar of her dress. He brought his face so close to hers that she could practically smell the liquor and smoke from his breath. Disgusting. The old man grabbed the stalker's ankles, begging for mercy. He was met by a kick in the chest. Mina tried to scream, but a priest had cast a Silencing spell on her. She felt stupid, she didn't even have enough magical defense to counter it.

It hurt. The grip on her neck hurt, and tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"What's that?" The blacksmith approached her and looked at her neck, where she had a necklace. It was a silver necklace with a small pendant that spelled her name. The blacksmith narrowed his eyes. "Is your name… Mina?"

Mina stared at him, refusing to answer.

"Answer!"

The grip on her neck tightened, and she was forced to nod to the extent that she could. She couldn't explain the sudden anger on the blacksmith's face, and saw him grab his mace. He raised it and aimed for her head, when the stalker who was gripping her neck suddenly yelped and fell down in pain. The old man had tackled him.

"Run!" The old man yelled gruffly as the stalker kicked him. The blacksmith, angry, approached Mina who had fallen on the floor.

"MINA!" Rai's voice exclaimed from their window. "What's happening down there?"

Mina tried to answer, but the silencing spell was still in effect. The mace came down, and she ducked as best as she could as it hit her shoulder. She screamed but no voice came out as blood gushed out and drenched her sleeves.

"Mina, run!" Rai shrieked as she dropped a lamp from above, which distracted the blacksmith. "Maki! Come out from your room, hurry!"

The priestess took the chance to stand up and run, even though the pain in her shoulder was excruciating. The blacksmith was momentarily distracted, and that's when the chase began. There were only a few people left outside at this time, and those who were, were met by pushes from the blacksmith and stalker who ran after the priestess.

Mina ran as fast as she could, and how she wished she could heal her wounds. It was painful, not being able to speak. It was even more painful not to be able to ask for help, and just watch the surprised looks of strangers as she ran by. She didn't even want to involve them in the first place.

She gasped as a dagger hit her ankle, and she tripped, her side hitting a wall. Grimaced, she tried her best to sit up; her body limped against cement and her own blood.

Mina looked up to see the grinning blacksmith, more ugly than ever. He raised his mace. She was about to die and she didn't know why.

"Any last words?" The stalker said with a smirk. He picked his dagger up and smiled at the priestess's blood on it. It was a sadistic smirk.

"What's this?" A voice called out. They all looked to the source. Mina's eyes widened – it was Seth! One of the assassins she met a few weeks ago. Great timing, she thought. He was still probably thinking of threatening her life. "Hey, why are you guys hurting this poor lady?"

Mina heard conversations, and as much as she tried to hear, her vision was slowly getting blurry. Everything was getting cold. She thought she heard the blacksmith and stalker cursing under their breaths and walking away, but it was probably just an illusion.

"What are you doing getting into a fight with those thugs, Mina?" Seth asked her. He stood straight, looking at her almost unconscious form. "You should be thankful I know them and that they owe me favors. Geez, you've got beauty, but you certainly don't have brains."

"Seth."

Mina tried to open her eyes. It was the other voice—who again? Oh, yes. _Cain._

"What happened?"

"Usual. Blood lust and all."

"Ah."

"You just want to finish her off? Ease the suffering?"

In Mina's mind, as soon as she heard that, she though: _Assassin crosses are idiots._

"Oh wow, what was that?" Came Seth's voice.

Mina slowly opened her eyes to see the two Assassins looking down at her. Seth had that usual unexplainable grin, and Cain looked… well, like Cain. Emotionless.

"Can't you speak?" Cain demanded of her.

"Lex Divina, moron." Seth replied.

"No wonder she wasn't healing herself."

"You think she's _that_ stupid?"

_Kill me. Kill me, now. _Mina rolled her eyes. Her consciousness was slowly coming back. Regeneration for her was pretty quick.

"I'll go ahead." Seth said, and he walked off, leaving Cain there. For a minute, Mina thought Cain was just going to leave her, too. Actually, she _hoped_ he did.

She watched him turn his back and sighed in relief. She knew that Lex Divina wasn't a spell that lasted forever, and she only had to wait awhile until her voice came back.

Cain turned his back and started to walk away. A few steps away, he halted. He looked agitated as he ran a hand through his raven black hair and gritted his teeth. Mina, blinking, watched as he swiftly walked towards her.

"Dammit." He cursed under his breath. "This is for helping me before, alright?"

Mina stared as he crouched down beside her and peered into her eyes.

"Is the Lex Divina going to wear off soon?" He asked.

She nodded her reply.

"Does it hurt, though?"

Nod.

"Excruciating?"

Aggravated nod.

"Well, live with it."

She grit her teeth angrily. What was the point of his presence, then?

But another level inside her was actually relieved. The first time they met, he didn't even speak without reason. Now, even if she was being teased – well, it was certainly an improvement.

He suddenly swiped his hand out and ripped her sleeve where her shoulder was wounded. Blood had already drenched her whole arm, and it was not a nice sight to see. Mina winced and shut her eyes, blocking out the painful feeling and sight.

Cain cursed again under his breath; the wound was terrible.

"You're the most useless priestess I know."

Mina stared at him angrily. When she got her voice back, the first thing she would say would be –

"Why'd you even stay? Is it to insult me?" She shrieked. She raised her arm to slap him, or at least, tried to. This must have been how he felt when he was poisoned at her place and couldn't move at all.

Mina watched him smirk smugly.

"Do you have enough stamina to heal yourself?"

"Yes, I do, Mister Arrogance." Mina replied simply. Cain hadn't even noticed that she was already starting to heal herself.

The assassin cross watched her as she did so. She was actually quite a good priestess. Her level for that young age could already rival someone who was getting ready to be promoted to a High Priestess.

Mina was done, and she sighed at the discarded sleeve drenched in blood. She needed new clothes. It was a good thing she was in Prontera, she could just easily get new uniforms there. Cain stood up, and to Mina's surprise, he held out a hand for her.

She lightly held his hand as he helped her up.

_Man, she's too light._ He thought. Mina stared at his expression of disbelief.

"Cain, listen—"

"Mina!"

The assassin cross and priestess turned around to see a Crusader and Dancer running towards them. They both looked so tired.

"Odin, Mina!" The dancer wrapped her arms around the priestess, sobbing. "We were so worried! We've been all over the city, looking for you!"

"I-it's alright." Mina replied. "I'm fine!"

"Mina!" Maki said in-between gritted teeth. "I told you to take care of yourself! Couldn't you understand why I—"

He stopped as soon as he spot Cain.

"Who the hell are you?"

Cain, hands in pockets, ignored him and started to walk away. Maki gripped his shoulder tightly and stopped him in his tracks. Mina winced, remembering how much Cain hated being touched.

"I asked, who the _hell_ are you?"

"Get your hands off me." Cain mumbled, eyes furious. This was when Mina cut in.

"This is Cain," Mina said, stuttering in nervousness. "He helped me out—well, technically, I guess."

The fact that Mina's sleeve was ripped never escaped Maki's attention. Maki stared at Cain. "I don't want you near Mina, ever again."

"Maki!" Mina and Rai said in unison, both thinking it was unreasonable. Maki could be too overprotective at times.

"I'm serious." The crusader stated.

"I don't indulge myself in pointless conversations, nor do I ever want to see her face again." Cain said simply. With that, he shook Maki's hand off his shoulder and vanished into thin air.

The three just stood there in shock.

"Weirdo." Maki grumbled.

"Idiot! Jerk! Moron!" Mina screamed, stomping her foot like a child.

"…I think I'm in love."

Maki and Mina stared at Rai like she had just sprouted wings.

_**To Be Continued**_

_**A/N:**_

_Halcyon Clouds__ – Oh Noooo, I was afraid I was being too predictable. I really need more originality, haha. -goes off to think of a more unpredictable plot-_

_Thank you for all the nice comments. I really, really love it. 3 I'd love some (constructive) criticisms too, please. :D_


	4. A Lesson on Gentleness

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Four**_

"_Mina. What's her last name?"_

_Seth shrugged and brushed back his messy dirty-blonde bangs. "Who knows?"_

_In the shadows, a mysterious man moved around, a picture clutched in his hand. It was the picture of a young priestess, smiling and bending down the hand a kid an apple. Her face was serene and she probably didn't know she was being pictured at that time._

"_My men at the bar don't seem to take her for granted." _

_Seth shrugged again. His_ _men from the bar were useless scum._

"_I can't say what we have to do for now, because if she is worth something, I don't know whether it would be dead or alive. I want you to watch over her for now. Clear?"_

_The blonde assassin cross looked shocked and blinked at the guild leader. He seemed flabbergasted by the whole deal. "But that person's probably the least person to be sought after. Why would I waste my time doing that?"_

_He was met by a glare that meant no questions were supposed to be asked. Like always._

"_Yes, sir." Seth said with a face of disbelief but determination._

"You're saying that we have to look after some brat?" Cain asked, anger evident in his voice. His voice that, most of the time, remained expressionless no matter what the situation.

His companion laughed sheepishly. "We get the weirdest missions."

They were standing on the roof of one of the buildings of Prontera. The two of them were overlooking the said City. It was only morning, and life in the capital was only starting as merchants dragged their carts to get the best spots of the day.

"I'll do it myself."

Cain stared at his partner. "What?"

"I'll do it myself." Cain said under his breath, avoiding his partner's stare. "I want to clear some things."

"Uh-uh, first of all, I was the one who received the order."

Seth kept talking, and he didn't even seem to mind that Cain wasn't paying attention to a word he was saying. After a while, a bit offended, Seth simply stared at Cain.

"I bet you're falling for her."

"I swear, if you don't quit saying comments like that—"

…………

"Hey, Mina!"

"What?" Mina turned around, blond hair flying in the wind. Beside her stood Maki, who was leading a Peco-Peco by the reins.

"What was the name of the assassin cross from the other night, again?" Rai asked sweetly. Dismay instantly came to Maki's face. He was still furious

Mina's expression crunched. "Why would you want to know?"

"Mina, I'm simply planning to be polite here."

Maki and Mina stared at the dancer in their usual "What the heck are you talking about" look. Rai was so unpredictable at times, and it was so hard to understand what she was trying to say.

"His name's Cain." Mina replied bluntly, still trying to figure her friend out. Why the dancer would be in anyway interested to such a jerk was beyond her.

"Thanks!"

"Rai, why are you asking what his—" Maki was cut off as the dancer suddenly raised both her hands in the air and started waving them at two people who were perched on one of the nearby roofs.

"CAAAIN! Cain!"

Cain and Seth seemed like they were debating over something, and the two of them looked down at the dancer who was waving at Cain. The expressions on their faces were unexplainable.

Rai stuck her tongue out at Mina and Maki and said, "Well, told you I was just trying to be polite."

"Rai, you just made everyone stare at you; that's nowhere being polite."

The dancer ignored Maki as one of the assassin crosses jumped down to the level of where they were. It was Seth, and he seemed shocked to see Rai.

"Hey! I know you!" Seth exclaimed.

Rai seemed surprised, and she raised a finger and pointed it at Seth. "Hey! I know you _too!_"

"You know each other?" Mina repeated, who seemed to find it so surreal.

"Obviously. Otherwise they wouldn't have said so." Cain mumbled under his breath as he jumped down beside his partner. Mina glared at the assassin cross, who simply ignored her reaction.

Maki seemed furious to see that person again, after what had happened, but he just kept quiet as Rai and Seth seemed to get reacquainted.

"Mina! This is the guy who helped me out a couple of months ago!" Rai said with a huge grin. She was jumping up and down happily, her auburn hair bouncing with every move she did. Mina smiled sheepishly at her friend, not knowing what exactly to say.

"It was my pleasure to help out such a pretty lady such as yourself." Seth said with a cocky grin. Rai's face immediately went red, and Mina stared at the two of them with a slight smile.

The two other men simply made a noise that sounded a lot like "Tsch."

"So, where are these two pretty ladies and this gentlemen planning to do for the day?" Seth asked the dancer. Mina hid her lips behind her hand as she tried to stop her chuckle. Cain had rolled his eyes out of exasperation, which for some reason, Mina had found adorable. Maki didn't fail to notice this little detail.

"I need to capture a Smokie for some kid I promised." Rai replied, holding up a bag of what seemed to be Smoked Yams. "I asked Mina and Maki to come along. Maybe you would to?"

"Rai!" Maki said with a scolding voice. He seemed to disagree with the whole idea, and even his Peco-Peco was shocked when he suddenly tugged the reins forward in surprise.

"I would love to come along. Thank you for the invitation, Miss Rai." Seth smiled at her. Mina grinned at Rai, who looked so lost in Seth's smile. Mina knew Rai fell in love easily. And to add, she also had this thing about assassins.

"Well, let's get going, then!" Rai said cheerfully. She faced Maki. "You sure you're not going?"

The crusader shook his head. "No. They really need me in the castle for some meeting thing."

Rai nodded as Maki got on his Peco-Peco. "You guys take care." He shot one last glare at the two assassins before kicking off. The Peco-Peco gave a loud hoot and rushed off.

"Why does he seem so angry at us?" Seth mumbled under his breath.

"Because he thinks he's our mother." Rai replied, waving her hand. Mina blinked at her comment as Rai grabbed her wrist and started off for the Prontera Maze. The two girls walked ahead as Cain asked Seth a question from behind.

"Why are we going with them?"

"Because, Cain." Seth said in a teacher-like voice. "It's easier to watch over someone when you're close to that someone."

On their way to the Prontera Maze, Cain seemed to get crosser and crosser. Seth was flirting nonstop with Rai, who seemed to enjoy it. If there was one thing Cain really hated about his partner was how immature he could because when around a girl.

Cain strayed behind as Seth and Rai spoke, and Rai still had her arm around Mina's arm as the walked. Mina was starting to feel uncomfortable, listening to the two talk.

Mina blinked and looked behind them at Cain, who had his hands in his pockets and eyes staring at the ground. Mina slowly entangled her arm away from Rai and slowed her pace down to match Cain.

"Hey." She greeted him.

He didn't reply.

"How are you?"

"Sullen." He replied.

She couldn't tell whether that was supposed to be a joke or not, but she smiled anyway.

"I thought you were never going to talk to me again?" She asked, teasing evident in her voice.

"Apparently, my partner thinks otherwise." Cain replied. In _his_ voice, aggravation was evident. This wasn't how he imagined watching over her would become.

They didn't really talk any more on their way to the Maze, and even though they argued a bit about whose fault it was that they got lost momentarily in the huge maze, they finally found the place with all the smokies.

Rai seemed fascinated with all the furry raccoons running around. She placed the bag of Yams down and grabbed one, ready to try her luck at getting one of the raccoons to follow her home. Seth grinned with amusement and followed her.

Cain plopped down on a huge rock. The priestess stared at him. "Aren't you going to try your luck, too?"

"No."

Mina shrugged and grabbed a yam. As soon as she plopped down on the grass, several raccoons had already approached her, sniffing the delicious treat in her hands. On the other side, none of the raccoons seemed to be amused by Rai's liveliness.

"You have to make them feel comfortable first, and you can't surprise them! Hey, no! Don't try to grab its ears, it'll just get scared!" Seth's voice called out.

"But I want to touch the ears!" Rai insisted. Seth laughed, and to set her at ease, he tried to touch one of the Smokie's ears too, which frightened it and made it hostile. It was Rai's turn to laugh when it tried to scratch Seth's hand.

Mina rolled her eyes, but had a huge smile on her face as she listened to her best friend and the assassin bond. This seemed like a totally different side of Seth. The Seth she knew was not cold like Cain but wasn't exactly kind either. She remembered her encounters with Seth, and how much she was threatened if she spoke about the night where she helped them out.

The priestess wanted to be with her best friend, but she knew how happy Rai was talking to an assassin cross, so she didn't dare to interrupt. She played with the smokies, which seemed to like her lap, and she stroked the fur. She had given it the Yam but she didn't think it would follow her home. It was just looking for a meal at the moment, and not an owner.

Cain's pitch black eyes stared at the priestess. She seemed so happy, just sitting there with smokies on her lap. Him, on the other hand, detested the annoying little creatures. They didn't serve a purpose other than being cute for girls who liked them. Useless, pointless, senseless, _worthless._

"Cain! Cain!"

Cain looked up at the dancer who was staring down at him with a huge grin plastered on her face. She forced a couple of Yams in his hands. He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Try your luck, Cain!" She smiled. Mina heard the request and tilted her head to watch.

"No." He replied.

Seth, who was behind Rai, looked at his partner with a 'just do it' expression. Cain just didn't see the point.

"C'mon, Cain!" Rai said, jumping up and down. She had every attribute of a little kid. "It's fun! Here, try feeding it to that Smokie!"

She pointed a finger at a fat smokie that was shyly looking at the yams in his hand. The dancer urged him to do it.

As if he reached his anger point, he threw the yam at the smokie in a swift manner. The yam hit it's tail and bounced away. The smokie gave a small sound of surprise and ran back to the bushes, hiding itself from the people.

"That was so mean!" Rai huffed, stomping her foot. "I can't believe you could be so heartless!"

Mina watched as her best friend stomped away like a little kid, obviously upset. She obviously didn't know how cold Cain could become.

"Cain, this is one of the reasons why nobody likes you." Seth mumbled under his breath as he followed Rai to cheer her up.

_What a hypocrite. He's just saying that because there are girls._ Cain grit his teeth. Seth was one of the most heartless people he knew, but he could act like such a baby just for play.

He didn't care about smokies. Nothing in the world could make him care about them in any way.

Cain sensed someone staring at him, and he glanced at Mina. The priestess had an unexplainable expression on her face. As soon as the assassin cross's eyes met with hers, she forced a smile and went back to playing with the raccoons on her lap. For some reason, just as she did that, something that resembled pain hurt in his chest.

The side of his mouth twitched. He never got that feeling. Why would a young priestess whom annoyed him so much be able to make him regret something, and with just a simple gesture?

He stared back at the bushes where the Smokie he frightened peeked out. It had such a chubby face that it couldn't even hide itself properly. It stared at Cain with frightened eyes.

Cain looked down on his hands where a couple more yams were left. He contemplated on the situation, and he couldn't figure out why, even just a little, he regretted what he had done.

He reached his hand out, a lone yam on it.

_What the hell am I doing?_

As soon as he reached for the Smokie, it retreated back into the bushes almost instantly. Another _pang_ came to haunt his chest. Why was this affecting him so much?

He didn't know that Mina had reverted her attention back to him. The priestess saw that sudden look of pain, which came and went almost instantly. Rejection was never a pretty feeling, even from the smallest creatures. She watched as he tried again, but he put his hand forward too fast and the smokie got even more frightened. The bush shook with it's sudden panic.

Mina stifled a giggle as Cain, aggravated, placed the yams on the ground in the quietest way possible and gave up. The assassin heard her and glared at her, obviously offended.

She instantly realized her mistake and took the smokie of her lap. Mina stood up and approached him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."

Cain glared at her more, but this time, she didn't seem uncomfortable.

"Do you want me to help you? Though I doubt it would follow us out of here, but I'm pretty sure it would want the Yams."

"I don't care."

Mina nodded and sat down on the grass beside the rock he was perched on. She grabbed one of the yams and acknowledged the Smokie hiding in the bushes. It was slowly peeking out again.

"Here, here…" Mina said in a soothing voice, encouraging it to come forward. "I'm so sorry this man was so mean to you. He didn't mean it."

"Yes. I did mean it."

The priestess smacked his leg, and he looked at her irritably.

"Here, smokie…" She said in a hushed voice. It peeked out and sniffed the yam in her hands. "Cain, sit down beside me. You're too high, you're probably intimidating it more."

"No."

"Cain, sit down on the grass!" She hissed. Once again, the Smokie retreated back to the bush as soon as it heard her aggravated tone. "See? It went back! That's all your fault! Sit down on the grass!"

Cain couldn't understand how it was his fault, but he gave up anyway and plopped down on the grass beside her.

"Smokie, come here… we won't hurt you…" Mina said, encouraging it to come towards her one again. Finally, but very slowly, it took a bite from the snack. Enthusiastic, Mina smiled and slowly patted it on the back. "You try it now, Cain. Just try feeding it one of the yams."

Cain, not in the mood to argue, took one of the yams and shoved it towards the smokie. The smokie curled up behind Mina, refusing to go near Cain.

"I give up." Cain rolled his eyes.

"No!" Mina said. "Give me your hand!"

The assassin raised his eyebrow as she grabbed his wrist.

"You have to relax and move slowly. Really, is killing all you know? Can't you be gentle even sometimes?"

"I don't see the need to."

She rolled her eyes and pinched him.

"Ow!"

"As I was saying… you need to relax, or else it'd sense you. You also can't surprise it." She smiled at him and ran her fingers over his, trying to lighten up his hand. His hand slightly twitched when she did so.

Mina paused for a while. Was he letting her touch him? Well, this was a first. His hands were so rough, probably from all the fighting he did. They were warm, though, and she noticed that his hands twitched every time she touched him. He was so weird.

"C'mon, just try it." Mina encouraged the raccoon to get closer, and disguised Cain's hand with hers. She had her hands enveloping his as the raccoon sniffed it and took a bite off the yam. Slowly, Mina removed her hands and watched as the raccoon ate off Cain's hand.

The priestess smiled. Cain seemed afraid to move, as if the slightest action would scare it off. When it was done, it licked Cain's fingers. The assassin seemed both tickled and annoyed by this.

"See? I told you. You just needed my help." She told him with a smile. He shrugged.

…………

Back in Prontera, a crusader was furious. He had just come from the meeting, and he found out something very important.

The assassin's descriptions, the one who killed the prince –

They sounded exactly like the ones from earlier.

"Where the hell would Mina and Rai have met them?" He yelled to nobody in particular. Several people looked at him strangely. He was so angry about the whole ordeal.

There were only a few witnesses, but they all said the same things. Their description, no doubt, added up to Seth and Cain.

Maki had never been more furious in his life before.

…………

"Wow, Mina, you caught one?" Rai asked cheerfully as they walked back to the city. She had one Smokie in her arms, and Seth walked beside her. Mina and Cain walked behind them, and a fat smokie was following their tracks.

"I didn't catch it." Mina said. "Cain did."

Time seemed to stop as Seth almost fell from his tracks. He looked at his partner in disbelief, and so did Rai. "You? YOU caught one?"

"No, it's following Mina." Cain replied bluntly. Seth and Rai gave a sigh of relief and nodded. They both thought that the world was coming to an end.

"Don't be stupid." Mina rolled her eyes. "It's following Cain."

Rai blinked.

Slowly, the dancer whispered something to Seth, who nodded in return. The two of them walked on either side of Mina and Cain. They both counted to five, and Rai grabbed Mina's wrist and dragged her to the opposite direction. Seth grabbed Cain's scarf; his partner protested as he was dragged opposite Mina.

The Smokie followed Cain.

"Idiots. I told you." Mina mumbled under her breath.

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Rai said out loud, obviously in disbelief.

"This is _so_ strange." Seth said, staring at Cain, who shrugged. Cain seemed annoyed, as the Smokie suddenly jumped on it's head and sat there.

The fat smokie found a new napping place – it's grouchy owner's head.

_**To Be Continued**_

_A/N – Anyone got an lj? Do add me. Shucks, shameless plugging. My username's Kisyeru._

_http // kisyeru . livejournal . com_


	5. To Morroc

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Five**_

"It's information that shouldn't be exposed to the public yet—"

"So why the hell are you telling us?" Rai cut in, anger evident in her voice. Beside her, Mina, blinked, not seeming to understand the whole situation. "Man, Maki, you are such a—"

"Let me finish!" Maki snapped. He seemed to rival Rai in her current bad mood. Of course, he had a reason to be like that at the moment. "They're very dangerous, and I told you they weren't good company. I don't want either of you to see them starting now."

Mina opened her mouth to say something when Rai suddenly cut her. Both Maki and Rai seemed to be doing nothing but cutting everyone there, it was so difficult to finish a sentence, let alone start one.

"You can't tell us what to do!" Rai growled, standing up from the couch. She held her fists tight. Mina sighed and buried her face in her hands. Both Rai and Maki were very stubborn, and every time conversations like these happened, it turned out very ugly.

"Rai, they're dangerous." Maki said in the calmest tone he used that day.

"Not to me, they aren't!" Rai retorted. She knew she was lying, though. Only Seth seemed to acknowledge her, while the other one, Cain, seemed to be nothing but annoyed at her.

"Maki…" Mina finally spoke up. She smiled at the crusader. This made Rai give a sigh and sit back down, arms and legs crossed stubbornly.

Maki kept silent and looked at Mina. Rai rolled her eyes when she noticed the crusader's cheeks had suddenly gone red. Of course, the Priestess Mina was too naïve to notice anything out of the usual.

"Did you even like the prince? You were the one who said you agreed to him being assassinated, since he was nothing but a selfish man." Mina said softly.

With grimace, Maki prepared to reply when Rai cut him again.

"He's only angry because he hates them! He hates Cain most of all, because he thinks you're falling for the guy, Mina." Rai mumbled under her breath.

"Rai!" Maki yelled. There went the dancer again, saying whatever she wanted, not even minding about what other people thought. "Rai, will you shut up?"

"It's true, though!" The dancer retorted.

Mina felt like crying. This wasn't how she imagined staying with her friends would be.

"Maki…" Mina said, hoping that nobody would interrupt her. "They're good people, I promise. I hope you can trust me when I say that."

Maki paused for a while and ran a hand through his hair, agitated. After a while, with obvious grimace, he replied. "Fine. I'll let it go. But if they do as much as scratch any of you, it'll be their heads."

"Yes, father." Rai mumbled.

Mina gave a sigh of relief. She didn't know why Maki was acting so furious. Even though he served the city, he never really cared about assassins before. Actually, nobody really did. They could just walk through any public places without getting noticed. This was because the people they usually banished were people nobody even really liked. Corrupt people hired them to assassinate corrupt people, and vice versa. In the end, it was actually the good people who would be benefited.

"I hate you, Maki!" Rai yelled. Maki and Mina stared at her, stunned. The issue was already done yet she was still angry at him, even though he had already let it go. She stood up and stormed out of the door.

Maki looked at her retreating form and blinked, flinching as the door banged loudly behind her. He sighed. "I guess I had that coming."

"It's okay, Maki." Mina said to him with a smile. "I'm sure she didn't mean that. She's just really upset."

"Yeah, sure." The crusader replied. Mina couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic. She didn't reply to him anymore, and she stood up, grabbing a bag that was beside her. Maki eyed the bag. "What's that?"

"Pet food." Mina replied with a huge smile. "I'm going to give it to someone for his pet smokie, but I don't exactly know where he's staying… so yeah, just assuming I'll see him again."

"Who's he?"

The priestess gulped. She really was the dimmest person. It hadn't occurred to her that saying all that would repeat the conversation again. That's just how she was; she was naïve to a lot of things.

Maki was looking at her intensely, which made her shift her weight from one foot to another. She remembered Cain who looked at her like that, but with Maki, it was different. She wasn't used to Maki looking like this. He was really changing a lot over the past few days.

"It's for Cain. He caught a smokie." Mina replied, forcing her tone to be cheerful. She answered in the most nonchalant way possible. What seemed to be both pain and anger appeared on Maki's face.

"Mina."

She was about to leave the room. The priestess faced him and had a questioning look. "Yes?"

"He doesn't deserve your sympathy."

Silence. Mina blinked, her grip tightening on the bag.

"S-sympathy…?" Mina repeated slowly, confusion very evident in her face. She had no idea what Maki was talking about, though he had a very serious expression on his face. He took a step closer.

"Mina…"

"Huh?"

The priestess flinched when she felt the crusader's eyes on her, and she began feeling very uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to defend herself when Rai came storming back in,

"I'M GOING TO COMODO."

Silence.

"Are you two going to make out?" Rai said with a tone of disgust and an expression of disbelief. She looked at the priestess and crusader, and how the crusader was so close to the girl he liked, and how he was looking at her in such a longing way.

"NO!" The crusader and priestess both retorted right away, their faces going bright red.

The crusader coughed as Mina stepped away from him. He said, "Rai, what's in Comodo?"

Rai raised her eyebrow impatiently. "The town Festival is in a couple of days, and all dancers are invited. There's no way I'm going to miss that."

"Right, right…" Maki said softly.

Then Rai added, "And Seth and his grouchy partner agreed to come along with me."

"WHAT?" Maki growled.

Mina buried her face in her hands. Rai didn't really care about what Maki thought about them, so it seemed.

…………

When Mina, Rai and Maki met way back, Maki was always the leader. He was always a very calm person who took in charge because he was the only who could think of the best solution, always. In other words, the two girls had respected him so much, and he gained this respect. He never acted rashly or showed them any signs of anger.

But these past few days, Mina was starting to gain a different opinion of him, and she couldn't help it.

Rai, on the other hand, was always the baby of the group. Some people could dub her as a brat, but she never cared. She wasn't selfish, she thought about other people as much as she thought about herself. Thing was, there were just some things which she prioritized, and at the present, this something just so happened to be an assassin cross named Seth.

These past few days, Rai had been Rai, and Rai will always be Rai.

The last of the group was Mina, the very unselfish priestess who always brought others before her. Her priorities were always other people and how she would find to please them. At the moment, though, she was in a predicament.

They were in the dessert, walking to Morroc. Seth and Rai were walking ahead, talking like there was no tomorrow. Maki and her followed afterwards, and she could see that Maki was trying his best to remain calm, but he was obviously aggravated. Though he said that he wouldn't come to blows with the assassin crosses, he didn't really think they'd be traveling together, which was a totally different topic.

Behind them, Cain walked with his usual expression. A smokie was following behind him, trying it's best to keep up.

"Look, Mina, if you want to talk to him, just go." Maki mumbled under his breath. Mina blinked.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked, confused.

"You don't have to stay here because you think I'll be angry. You feel sympathy for the jerk, don't you? Just go ahead and talk to him."

"Ah…" Mina replied, lying. She still didn't know about the sympathy thing, and she chose to avoid the topic. "No, I'm staying here to keep you company."

And because of that conversation, it was even more reason not to stray from Maki.

It just went on like that for the rest of the afternoon—almost everyone was bitter except for Rai and Seth. When the sun finally prepared to set, a cascading orange was painted over the dessert. The heat was finally going away, and cold was replacing it.

They decided to make camp near an oasis, and to finish going to Morroc by the morning.

"Who has food?" Rai called out. Maki handed her some containers of meet and she started cooking them. "Hey, Mina, you want to cook?"

Mina went red and twiddled her fingers.

Rai laughed. "Oh, yeah, sorry."

"What, what?" Seth asked curiously.

"Mina burns down anything she tries to cook." Maki replied for Rai. Mina laughed and thwacked the crusader on the side.

"Well, it's just something I can't do." The priestess smiled.

"Among other things."

"Rai!" Mina called out, laughing.

"I'm kidding!" Rai said quickly. She began handing out the barbecue. Mina took it and took a bite, and smiled at the deliciousness. Rai was very talented, and even though all she really did was put it over a fire, the meat still tasted divine.

"Where's Cain?" Rai asked, having his share of food in her hand. They all looked around, except for Seth.

"Forget him." Seth said while biting his food. "If he can't wait around, he doesn't deserve it."

The dancer shrugged and looked at Maki. "Hey, go find him, I think he went to find a drink of water."

Mina rolled her eyes as Maki shot Rai a glare. _Really, Rai, please quit doing that._

"I'll do it." Mina volunteered, grabbing it from Rai before Maki could interfere.

"Don't worry about it, Mina." Seth said. "He's an idiot."

The priestess shrugged and passed Maki as she ducked into the trees, heading for the water hole. She ignored the look of disagreement from the crusader and went ahead anyway. Even though Cain was the grouchiest person she knew, he could still hold a conversation at times, and he did deserve some food. It made her wonder what he was doing with them, anyway. Did Seth just convince him to go?

It didn't take her long to find him. All she had to do was follow the direction the sound of a Smokie's whining.

"Cain?"

He got startled and looked at her. He was seated on a rock, arms crossed, while a smokie sat on the ground opposite him.

"Hey, it's whining!" Mina growled. "Did you even feed it? It's going to run away, idiot."

"I can live with that."

Mina frowned and handed him his food, then she grabbed the smokie. She took some pet food from her bag and tried feeding it to the smokie, but it refused.

"Huh?" Mina blinked.

Cain took a bite from his meat. "It's already full." He mumbled under his breath. "It found the bag of pet food you gave me, then it just finished it all up."

"I think you need to diet." Mina told the smokie, which nibbled on her finger. "Wait, so why's it whining?"

Cain shrugged.

Mina hugged the smokie, which purred against her. "I think it just wants your affection, Cain."

He stared at her with a expression that said, 'Are you crazy?'

"Hey, Cain."

"What?" He mumbled, staring at the water hole in front of him. A few creatures were drinking from it, disturbing the placidness that it held.

"What's the name of your pet?"

"Mina."

The priestess's eyes widened and she almost dropped the smokie. She stared at the assassin with wide eyes. "What? Why?"

"Because Seth named it." Cain shrugged. "And it's as annoying as you."

"If I weren't holding this smokie right now, I'd hit you on the head." The priestess said, rolling her eyes.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Hmph."

They stayed there in silence, with Cain still staring at the water. The water had been so placid before the animals came, it wasn't moving at all. When they came, ripples appeared, as if one by one, chaos ensured.

It was annoying to him.

"You'd better go back." Cain said, not even looking at her. "I don't want that crusader to think I need sympathy."

Mina stared at him. "What did you say?"

Anger appeared on his face even though he tried to mask it. "You know what I mean."

"I don't!" Mina said, raising her voice. The Smokie seemed startled and jumped out of her arms, which she ignored. "I don't even get what I'm supposed to sympathize about. I stay with people because I want to."

"Great." Cain mumbled. "That sounds assuring."

Mina stomped her foot. "You are the rudest person I know!" She screamed.

He shrugged, and the Smokie cowered at a distance. It didn't seem to like the shouting.

"If you hate me so much, then quit talking to me." Cain mumbled.

"Fine." Mina replied. She started walking back towards the other people. "You, Cain, are a jerk."

She didn't even wait for his reply, even though he didn't give one. She ran back to their campsite where Seth, Rai and Maki were all staring at her. The moment she came there, they all pretended to be engrossed in some conversation.

Mina was so upset that she wasn't even in the mood to listen to their pretending. She stormed off towards the desert to get a clearer head.

"Mina, wait!" She looked behind to find the dancer running after her. Mina waited until the dancer got into the same pace with her. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes."

Rai smiled. "This is new. It's only sometimes you see someone so calm get so angry."

"Just like Maki, I suppose."

The dancer giggled. "The reason he's so cross is because he's in love with you!"

"He is not!" Mina retorted, going red.

"Anyway," Rai started. She played with the sand with her feet. She seemed very uncomfortable with what she was going to say. "Falling in love with an assassin cross is like falling in love with death, ain't it?"

The priestess looked startled. "I'm not in love with that jerk!"

Rai gave herself a successful smirk. Mina could be so predictable. "I was talking about Seth."

"Oh."

"Did I tell you that I've been in love with him for the longest time?"

"Yes, but…" Mina replied. "You also said that about Cain ten seconds after you met him."

Rai ignored Mina's reply. "I fell in love with him before. He was a customer in a bar I worked in, and one day, he just quit coming. He won't tell me what happened, though…"

"I see…" Mina said, not really seeing what the reason was that Rai was telling her this.

"Hey, Mina…" Rai said softly. "Is it stupid to be afraid of losing someone?"

The priestess smiled. So that was the reason.

"No, it isn't stupid at all." Mina grinned. "What's stupid is not caring at all."

Rai grinned back. "Thanks."

They walked in silence for a while. It was just like old times, when they had heart-to-heart conversations. See, Rai could be mature when needed.

"I don't think Cain doesn't care." Rai said softly. "I think something's just stopping him from caring."

_**To Be Continued**_


	6. A Little Sister

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Six**_

It was late afternoon, but the temperate wasn't any cooler in the desert town of Morroc. The heads of certain companions weren't any cooler, either. Tension was growing in the simplest places, but a certain crusader looked to be enjoying it, though he didn't want to admit it.

"That's what happens." Rai mumbled under her breath as she handed Maki some sliced apples. "When you fall for a girl and you're overly jealous, you get overjoyed to see when she's having a fight with the guy you're jealous over."

Maki shrugged. He didn't mean to feel happy about the certain situation. The crusader opened his mouth to explain to Rai. "I just don't think he deserves Mina."

"Yeah, since you think you're the one who deserves her."

He shook his head in reply. "Actually, I don't… least I can do is protect her, right?"

Rai noticed the sudden sadness that swept over his face. She guiltily pats his shoulder. "Hey, I was just kidding. I didn't mean it."

The crusader looked at her weirdly. When did _Rai_ start not meaning things?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rai retorted. Maki replied with a laugh.

They were staying in an inn in Morroc after they arrived that day. They all decided to stay for the night and resume their journey to Comodo first thing in the morning, even though for some reason, Cain was not all too happy about that. He had spent the whole day locked up in his room like a little kid with a tantrum, and his pet Smokie was scratching his door and whining nonstop.

Seth approached Rai and Maki. "Where's Mina?" He noticed the smokie momentarily glance at him and remembered that the Smokie's name was also Mina.

"She hasn't been back." Rai said.

"I guess she's still pretty upset about that fight." Seth sighed.

The dancer shook her head. 'Not exactly. I was able to talk to her last night, and she seemed to cool off."

"I guess it's just that idiot who's throwing a tantrum." Maki mumbled under his breath, but there was a hint of excitement on the corner of his mouth.

"Hmm." Rai seemed to muse on something. "Maybe I should go try cheering him up!"

Maki stared at her coarsely, but the dancer ignored him. Seth spoke up, "That's not a good idea. He's in a really bad mood because we're in this particular town."

Rai blinked and started walking towards Cain's door.

"You shouldn't tell her not to do something." Maki told Seth. "She'll want to do it even more."

Seth glanced at Maki. "So what should I say?"

"Nothing. Just look at her weirdly." The crusader replied.

"Caaain!" Rai knocked on his room, the smokie looking up at her. "Cain, are you alright?"

No reply.

She reached to the knob and turned it, finding out that it hadn't been locked. Rai blinked and opened the door slowly, she peeked inside it to see Cain lying down on his bed, facing the opposite direction.

"Cain, do you want to go ou—"

"Shut up."

Rai's eyes widened, and she pouted. He was so rude! The smokie had crept inside the open door and jumped up on the bed. Cain ignored it as it took a position beside his shoulder.

"Hey, so the smokie can come near you, but me, a person, can't?"

"Yes."

Rai huffed and Seth tried approaching her to warn her not to continue. Even Seth didn't get on Cain's nerves when he was in this mood, but Rai didn't seem to care.

"You are the rudest person I know!" Rai yelled at him. "It's actually good that smokie can stand you, because I sure as hell can't see anyone else who can."

Seth reached out for Rai and tried to pull her away from the door when a katar came whooshing towards Rai. It missed her by just a very small distance. Rai stood there, shocked.

"Nobody's asking you to try to tolerate me, you dumb brat." Cain mumbled. He was already a few inches from Rai as he took his Katar, which had lodged itself on the wooden wall behind the dancer.

Maki approached Cain with an angry expression. "You—"

"What?" Cain growled.

Somewhere in the background, the Assassin cross and the Crusader ignored the shouts that tried to restrain them. Sword met with Katar as the two started lashing out at each other. They both seemed equally pissed at the other.

"You think you can just talk to Rai like that?" Maki growled as he swung his sword at the Assassin Cross who ducked away from it.

"Shut up." Cain growled back. "I can talk any way I like."

Rai stood there, shocked.

"Stop it, both of you." Seth called out, holding Cain by the wrist and Maki by the shoulder just before they hit each other. They both stopped in their tracks when Seth called out to them, and even Seth's tone had become more serious.

Even though Cain and Seth didn't get along, they still knew to follow each other when the other was serious. As for Maki, he wasn't really the type to fight when his opponent had stopped.

"What will happen when Mina finds out about this?" Seth grinned, bobbing his head left and right playfully. They all stared at him weirdly. With a snap, his face turned serious again.

_What's with this guy?_ Maki raised his eyebrow at Seth. Beside him, Rai seemed to like how Seth was handling the situation. Her opinion was, 'he looks so cool'.

"I don't have time for this." Cain swatted Seth's hand away and started for the inn's exit, his smokie following him behind.

………

"I hope all these can serve okay for the rest of our journey…" Mina whispered under her breath as she held bags of food in her hands. She was walking back to the inn where everyone else was waiting for her. She couldn't exactly see where she was going since the bags were blocking away most of her view.

And so, she didn't realize that a thief was running right at her—

Mina yelped as food flew everywhere. Apples, meat, and all other things she had bought. She sighed as she saw the remnants of what she got, and a young thief who was scratched the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry!" The thief girl said. "I'm sooo sorry!"

"Y-yes…" Mina said as she started picking up what she dropped. The girl leaned down to help her out when shouts came from the corner she had come running from. Mina blinked as the thief stood up and ducked behind an alley.

A blacksmith came, seeming angry at something. He looked down at Mina who was picking up items, and Mina glanced back at him.

"Have you seen a young thief?"

Mina blinked and hesitated for a bit. She slowly shook her head. "No, I'm sorry."

The blacksmith huffed and thanked her, and then he ran towards the opposite direction. Mina looked over at the thief who was peeking out from the alley. The thief assured herself it was safe before walking towards Mina.

"T-thanks." The young thief said. She leaned down and helped Mina gather up the rest of the items.

"It's no problem." Mina replied.

"Yes!" The thief smiled. "It's because I wasn't paying much attention…! Next time, when I grab an item, I'll run off as fast as I can!"

Mina laughed nervously. "That's not exactly a very nice thing to do, you know…"

The thief grinned widely at her, as if proud of what she had said.

"What's your name?" The priestess smiled at her.

"Cheska! Cheeeska!"

Mina laughed; the little girl was so enthusiastic. She couldn't help liking her instantly. Plus, she looked really familiar. "How old are you?"

"Twelve summers!"

Just then, the door to the inn opened and Cain barged out, looking furious. Mina blinked and glanced up at him, and so did the thief.

Cain stared at the two of them.

"C-Cain?" Mina blinked. He looked so angry, but when he saw them, his expression turned into shock.

"CAIN!" Cheska shrieked and tackled the assassin cross. Mina stood there, blinking as he fell to the ground, the young thief hugging him. "Cain, you finally came back!"

"Cheska…? Ugh…" Cain tried to sit up straight, but Cheska kept him down. "I can't breathe…"

Mina stood there. Cheska noticed the priestess's confused look.

"Cain's my older brother!" Cheska said cheerfully, punching Cain in the cheek. "He finally came back!"

"A-ah…" Mina said. So _that's_ why she looked so familiar. She had the same raven eyes and hair as her older brother. But, really, what were the chances of her meeting Cain's sister?

"What's that face for?" Cain muttered at Mina.

"N-nothing!" The priestess replied.

"She helped me out from an evil blacksmith, Cain!" Cheska laughed, hugging her brother for the nth time. "What's her name?"

"Mina." Cain replied bluntly, even though he was being given a difficult time to breathe from the lack of oxygen.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Cheska asked curiously.

"No!" Cain replied instantly.

"Cain's getting red!" Cheska laughed, pulling Cain's hair. She seemed like the type of person who showed her affection through little (yet adorable) acts of violence. "Mina, I think my brother likes you! Look, he's so red!" The thief grabbed her brother's face and forced him to look at Mina.

"Stop it!" Cain growled. But Cheska was right, his cheeks were scarlet. Maybe it was from all her pinching?

Mina laughed as she watched the siblings. She was amazed at how affectionate Cain could be. Her idea of Cain being affectionate was the fact that he didn't push Cheska away.

Cheska shrieked with excitement when she saw a smokie bouncing up beside them. It seemed curious that someone was beating up it's master.

"I didn't know you had a Smokie! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME! Cain, what's the name? CAIN?"

"M-Mina!"

"Huh?" Cheska blinked. "Who… YOU REALLY DO LIKE MINA!"

"STOP YELLING."

"YOU STOP YELLING, YOU DUMB BROTHER!"

Cain growled at his sister and tried to pry her off, but Cheska bit him on the hand to stop him. This made Mina laugh. The two siblings were so cute, and even the smokie seemed to find it amusing because he starting nibbling on Cain's hand, too.

"Cain, Cain! Say hi to Nana! SAY HI TO NANA!" Cheska screamed into his ears. "This is amazing, you're an assassin cross now! Show her, Cain!"

"Stop it!" Cain growled, but Mina noticed that he had the happiest expression since she had met him. He must be really fond of his little sister. Cheska ignored Cain's protests and started dragging him towards a destination that was probably Nana's place.

Mina chuckled and reached for the inn's door to push it open and go inside, but Cheska stopped her in her tracks.

"Mina, what are you doing?" Cheska bellowed.

Both the smokie and the priestess looked at her. The smokie was latching itself on Cain's back. "I'm going inside?" Mina replied, confused.

"No!" Cheska ordered. "You're coming to meet Nana!"

"Huh?" Mina blinked and looked at Cain, who shrugged in return. The priestess nodded—as long as Cain didn't mind she came along then she didn't see anything wrong. She was going to say she was just going to go in to drop the groceries, but Cheska seemed so excited that she just brought it along with her.

On the way, Cheska didn't seem to keep her anger hidden. She ranted to him about how much she hated him for leaving, and for not going to their mother's funeral. This shocked Mina a lot, but she didn't say anything. Cheska said it was so hard to live as an orphan, and even though Nana was there, it would be great to hear from someone in her family. Cain shrugged at everything she said, even though she seemed to be pouring her heart out. She spoke like a little girl with a tantrum, though, so maybe that's why Cain didn't take her seriously.

Cheska held Mina and Cain by the wrists as she pulled them to a shabby looking house in the far-end of the city. The priestess glanced at Cain, who looked a bit troubled, but didn't seem to resist his little sister's request. Cheska kicked the door opened and started jumping excitedly, calling out Nana's name.

"Oh, my Lord!" Nana, an old lady, exclaimed. She dropped the bag she was holding and rushed over to Cain, poking his face here and there. Mina seemed amazed that Cain didn't complain. "Cain, you're alive."

"Yeah." Cain blinked. He seemed to have an expression that said, 'you though I was dead?'

Nana looked at Mina and smiled. "And who's this pretty lady?"

"This is Mina!" Cheska said. "She helped me out from an old mean black smith! She really is very pretty, isn't she?"

Nana laughed and nodded and watched as Cheska took the smokie in her arms and started playing with it.

"Well, sit down, sit down!" Nana told them all. She led them to the couch and practically forced Cain and Mina to sit down, unconsciously shoving them. Cain had to hold Mina by the shoulder momentarily to keep her from falling on his lap. Nana faced Cain. "You have to tell me everything! You've been gone for years!"

Cheska was playing with the smokie on the floor. She pouted and looked at Cain. "This Smokie seems really hungry. Cain, did you even feed it?"

Cain shrugged, and the priestess rolled her eyes. She couldn't tell why the smokie liked the assassin cross so much if it he kept forgetting to feed it.

"Stupid brother!" Cheska yelled. She stood up and headed for the door. "Smokie, come! I'm buying you some food!"

"Cheska, it's getting dark." Nana warned. "Be sure to head back before it's too late, alright?"

The thief nodded and ran out the door. Surprisingly, the smokie that never left Cain's side followed her. It must have thought that Cheska resembled her brother so much that she couldn't be that harmless. As soon as Cheska left, Nana started talking to Cain.

"She was so angry when you left." Nana said with a sigh. "She saying everyday that she wished her stupid brother would come back. I'm really happy you came back, Cain."

Cain shrugged. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

Nana seemed surprised by his reply. She sat up straight and looked Cain straight in the eye. "You'll say goodbye properly this time, won't you?"

The assassin cross shrugged again.

The old lady smiled and peered at him through her glasses, and then she looked at Mina. "You'll make sure he does, right?"

"Eh?" Mina blinked and looked at Cain, who was staring at a wall. The priestess laughed. "Yes, I will!"

Nana laughed at her reaction and said, "It's kind of surprising that Cain would have such a pretty lady as a companion. How did you two mee—"

"How come you let Cheska become a thief?" Cain suddenly cut in. He looked seriously.

Nana seemed taken aback by the question, and then she gave him a soft smile. "I couldn't do anything. She said she wanted to be just like you."

Cain nodded and stood up. "I'll go pick her up. It's getting dark."

"Alright." Nana said. "Please say goodbye properly."

Mina watched Cain walk towards the door. She was still in awe that he actually acted this way towards someone. He seemed to actually… _care._

"Aren't you coming?" Cain looked at her weirdly. It was as if he was wondering why Mina would stay in that place when he was already leaving.

"Of course I'm coming!" Mina retorted. Cain rolled his eyes and went out the door to wait for her there. She stood up and thanked the old lady for everything, and then she rushed over to follow Cain.

"Mina." The old lady said. Mina blinked and looked at her. "Take care of Cain."

The priestess laughed, not really knowing what nana meant by that. Mina grinned at the old lady and rushed out to see Cain already walking towards the market.

Mina made a face and started running after him; he was walking so fast. When she finally caught up with him, they were already near the market and he was looking right and left for his sister. It was already nearing dark, and the merchants and blacksmiths were already clearing their stalls.

"Mina! Mina!" Came a chant from a kid's voice. Cain and Mina looked over at the direction and saw Cheska, sitting on the sand and feeding the smokie.

"Cheska," Cain walked over to her. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"I know my way back!"

Cain scratched the back of his head.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Cheska said, annoyed. "You probably didn't even mean to meet up with me today. Stupid brother!"

"…Sorry…" The assassin cross muttered under his breath.

His sister seemed satisfied with his apology. "Cain, let's watch the stars like we used to!"

"Hah?"

"C'mon! The two Minas are invited, too."

Mina blinked as she was, yet again, dragged by the wrist. Her other hand was still carrying the bags of food. Mina didn't know why, but she was actually enjoying the situation.

Cheska brought them to the north exit of the city, by the clear dessert. It was already cold at that time and the night sky was clear and beautiful. They all sat down on the sand, and Mina couldn't help wondering why she was even there. She felt like she was intruding in on the siblings.

Cheska talked about random things that Mina listened to intently. The priestess glanced at Cain, who looked sleepy and had a napping raccoon on his head.

"I'm sleepy, too." Cheska said when she saw her brother yawn. She took the Smokie and woke it from it's sleep and cuddled it, as if using it as a pillow.

"If you're sleepy, we'll just take you back to Nana's." Cain told her.

"No!" The young thief slapped Cain's shoulder. "I'm not stupid like you! I know you're leaving me again."

"Gah…" Cain muttered.

"You're so stupid!" Cheska punched his shoulder. "You can't even say goodbye properly! Stupid!"

"Ches—" Cain started.

"Mina, he's stupid, isn't he?" The thief pouted. Mina looked shocked when the thief suddenly hugged her. The little girl buried her face in Mina's shoulder.

The priestess looked at Cain, who looked at her with that usual emotionless stare of his. She couldn't even tell what he was thinking.

"He's not stupid." Mina whispered to Cheska. Then she remembered the words Rai had used. She laughed as she said it. "He's just too scared to care!"

"What the hell?" Cain raised his eyebrow and looked at Mina weirdly. The priestess stuck her tongue out at him.

Both Mina and Cain seemed surprised when they heard sobs from the little thief. Cheska still had her face buried on Mina's shoulder.

"But I missed him so much…" The thief sobbed. Cain looked at his sister's sobbing form. "He didn't even say goodbye… he didn't even plan on saying hi today… he's not even going to say goodbye again."

"Cheska…" Mina whispered. She patted the thief's head, not really knowing what to say. She wasn't in the position to even say anything. The priestess hoped that _Cain_ would say something, but he just stared at his sister, emotionless.

"He's so stupid!" Cheska unconsciously punched Mina's leg, which made Mina wince.

"Maybe you should try telling him that." Mina told Cheska.

"Great, it's as if I'm not inches away." Cain muttered.

"Then maybe you should at least say something." Mina told Cain. "I'll cover my ears, don't worry."

Cain rolled his eyes at Mina and poked Cheska on the shoulder.

"Sorry." He muttered.

Mina eyed him. Was that all he was going to say?

"Do you mean that?" Cheska said, her voice muffled against Mina's shirt.

"Yes." Was the reply.

"But you're still stupid."

"I know."

Silence. Cheska hugged Mina tighter.

"Can we stay here a bit longer…?" The thief said softly, still not facing her brother. "I want to be with you guys for a bit more, even though I hate you, Cain."

Mina laughed at the young girl's request and looked at Cain with a 'pretty please' expression. Cain shrugged and plopped down on the sand.

"So, like… Cain, what's Juno like?" Cheska whispered. Her voice was getting drowsier.

"It's great. Just like you imagined." Cain replied. "It's way better than Comodo, something Mina won't admit."

"Shut up." Mina said to him.

He shrugged again.

Cheska had stopped talking, and her breathing had slowed down. Her head was rested on Mina's lap and her hand was lightly gripped on the priestess's sleeve.

"She's asleep." Mina told Cain.

"Ah."

Silence.

"What the hell are you smiling at?" Cain growled at Mina. He seemed annoyed at Mina's happy expression and the fact that there was a Smokie trying to nap on his chest.

Mina smiled at him. "I love this kid. She proved what I thought all along."

He raised his eyebrow.

"She proved that you _can _have emotions."

"Great observation." Cain rolled his eyes. He sat up straight, waking the smokie which jumped right off, looking annoyed at it's master.

"Why can't you just tell her how you feel?" Mina told him. "I mean, she seems to have it all hard… I know how it is to be an orphan, you're the only family she has."

"She's not an orphan."

"Huh?" Mina blinked. "But she said—"

"Well, she's not." Cain snapped. "She just thinks she is."

The priestess nodded. "Alright…"

Silence. Cain watched Mina tuck some of Cheska's bangs behind her ear.

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Mina said to him. He blinked, remembering the day before, and the fight they had. He shrugged in reply, which she took as an acknowledgement.

"C'mon. I'm taking her back." Cain stood up and took Cheska in his arms. He did have a bit of a difficult time because his sister wouldn't let go of Mina's sleeve.

The priestess stood up and followed after him.

"You really do look like your sibling." Mina grinned.

"Yeah, and you look like yours."

The priestess blinked and tilted her head a bit. What the hell was he talking about? She looked at him, carrying his sister in his arms and heading back to Nana's.

Never mind; this was the first time she saw him actually caring for someone, and other things could wait.

_**To Be Continued**_

**_A/N:_** I'm sooo sorry for the really long chapters. ;; I know it can be really boring to read sometimes… Agh.

Second thing –I know that this fic is full of clichés. Well, guess what, I love clichés. You're just going to have to live with it. :P


	7. Just Do It

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

"Seth, are you avoiding me or something?"

It was an innocent question from a young dancer who was currently becoming too fond of the Assassin Cross named Seth. On her face was a stubborn pout, determined to get an honest answer from him. Maki, curious, glanced at his friend and her seemingly innocent confrontation towards the guy she liked.

Seth, on the other hand, looked surprised by the question. He said, with great dignity, "Say what?"

"You heard me." The dancer said. By this time, even Mina had gotten curious and looked at the two of them.

They were only a few minutes away from Comodo when Rai thought it was appropriate to ask the question. They had already camped out on the white shores on the way to Comodo from Morroc. Comodo was Mina's favorite place, especially during the sunrise and sunset when the cascading clouds and lights would paint the sand pink. They were on their way to the City of Parties because Rai needed was going to attend a festival in her hometown. Nobody couldn't figure out why, but everyone else had come along. Maki said it was the cause of Rai's manipulation.

Seth was still avoiding the question and was laughing, as Rai seemed to get angrier in a childish manner. She wanted an answer, but he just wouldn't say it straight. Although, Mina also noticed that Seth was avoiding Rai. On their way to Comodo, there was a time when both Seth and Cain disappeared for quite some time. When they got back, Seth was more distant. Maybe Cain was also acting distant, but who could tell, he always did anyway.

"I'm not avoiding you!" Seth said with a grin, poking Rai on the nose.

Rai growled at him in a childish tone and tried to bite his hand, which he retreated swiftly. She didn't seem convinced by his answer.

"It's because Seth is denying the truth." Cain muttered under his breath. Rai blinked and stared at Cain, who didn't seem to want to say anything afterwards. Seth stared at Cain too, but with another kind of expression other than confusion. Seth's expression seemed to be one of anger.

"You know," Mina said cheerfully as they were finally approaching Comodo. Cain's smokie was in Mina's arms, since Cain refused to be near it for some reason. "Let's just have fun, Comodo's a great place."

"She's right." Maki agreed with the priestess.

Rai seemed offended by their statements and marched off to the Dancer guild. As soon as they entered the city, preparations for that night's festival were already obvious. There were bright colors everywhere and a lot of bards playing music. There was even a huge array of food. When Comodo partied, _Comodo partied._

"Never mind Rai." Maki said to Mina. "She's always like that."

Mina nodded while laughing. Maki was right—Rai was already a full-fledged teenager, yet she could still act like a ten-year old at times.

"I'll get you some snow cones, c'mon." Maki grinned while pointing over to a stall. Mina eyed him with an evil look—the crusader knew that Mina had a weakness for snow cones, and ever since, he seemed to bribe her time with it. The crusader and the priestess walked off to the stall, and Maki was forced to buy the smokie some candy too.

"Well, they seem happy." Seth told Cain as they stood in place.

Cain stared at his partner.

"We can't do anything about it." Seth said. "What's done is done."

"You could at least quit lying to that annoying dancer."

An event that happened the night before could explain everything—

"_Seth, Cain."_

_The two assassin crosses stood up straight, both looking tense. Neither of them knew how to challenge their guild leader, who wanted respect badly. He was known to be one of the most notorious leaders whose members couldn't help but follow him, if they valued their lives._

"_I want you to kill Mina."_

_Seth saw Cain flinch, and the guild leader didn't miss this certain reaction either. Seth faced their leader, who stood there in dark cloaks. He said, "Why?"_

"_Why are you asking?" The leader said in an aggravated tone. _

"_Please excuse me." Seth said. "I just want to know."_

_The cloaked man stared at Seth, then at Cain, who wasn't saying anything. He said, "They want us to kill anyone who might be a threat against the coronation of the new prince."_

"_New prince?" Seth said, and looked surprised. _

"_His name is Axis, he's a very distant nephew of King Tristan, but he's the closest as can get." The leader said. "They want the king's illegitimate child killed before anybody finds out about her. Some people in under the king already know about her, but they don't have confirmation yet. She's to be killed before her existence is confirmed."_

_Seth nodded._

"_Is that enough?" The leader suddenly bellowed. Seth and Cain flinched as sharp knives suddenly flew past them. The leader was now obviously aggravated at the both of them, his temper being as notorious as he was. _

"_Y-yeah!" Seth said._

"_Good. I want it done before the Comodo festival is over."_

_Cain shrugged and turned around, ready to go back to their camp. Seth followed suit._

"_Cain." The leader called out. Cain stopped in his tracks, his eyes staring at the ground beneath him. "I want you to kill her."_

_Seth stared as Cain suddenly turned around and glared at the cloaked man. He seemed angry. _

"_I want to test you." The leader said with a hint of a smirk. "I want to prove your loyalty, a son to a father."_

_With that, the cloaked man disappeared in a second. Cain and Seth stood there, Cain still seething at the man who was now gone._

"_Tough, man." Seth told his partner. "That's why I told you not to fall in love with her."_

"_Shut up." Cain muttered. "I'm not in love with her."_

"_Then why won't you do it?"_

_Silence._

"_I'll give you a hint, Cain." Seth grinned. "When a royal child is born, legitimate or not, a tattoo of a small star is placed on their right collar bone. It's a very hidden secret though, and if Mina is really the king's daughter and she has it, she probably doesn't even know what it means."_

"_What do you think about people like us falling for others?" Cain asked suddenly, his voice low._

_Seth seemed surprised by the question—it didn't seem like something Cain would ask. He said, "I think it's bullshit. Love's just a damn weakness."_

_Cain smirked. That was the partner he knew, not the one who acted to different in front of a certain dancer._

"_I'll kill Mina if you kill Rai."_

_And after saying that, Cain started walking away. Seth stared at his retreating back, understanding why he asked the question in the first place. It was a trick question._

_But he wasn't in love with Rai, he was just pretending, as usual—right?_

………

"Dumb, dumb, dumb Seth!" Rai yelled. The music in the place was overwhelming, yet her voice battled it out. Maki sat beside her, a drink in hand. Some blacksmith who wanted to dance with Mina had dragged her out, so it was just the two of them.

"What the hell are you talking about, Rai?"

"Why's he avoiding me?" Rai screamed.

"Calm down."

"How can you tell me to calm down, it's getting on my nerves!" Rai replied. Maki backed away a bit, since the dancer had an expression that seemed like she was going to pour her drink on him.

Maki, with a sigh, said, "Maybe there's just something on his mind. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know."

Rai stared daggers at him.

"I mean—yeah, it does."

"Maki, you're an idiot." Rai rolled her eyes and stood up. She grabbed his drink and placed it on a table beside hers, and then she grabbed his wrist and dragged him to dance with her. Maki was cursing under his breath since Rai kept laughing at the way he looked so clumsy.

"I hate festivals." Maki grumbled under his breath.

"You know the tale of this one?" Rai asked him curiously.

"No."

"They said," Rai started with a mischievous smile. "If you confess to the person you like and she accepts, then you'll be together forever. If she doesn't accept, then you'll have no chance… ever. It's, like, one of the most dangerous challenges you can find in a tale."

Maki rolled his eyes. "I don't believe in those stuff."

The dancer ignored his comment. "You get why I'm telling you this?"

"You're going to confess to me?"

"Doofus."

Mina smiled as she passed her two friends. They seemed to be getting along normally again, before the issues of Seth and Cain came. Maki seemed to be warming up to the two assassin crosses and wasn't grouchy that much anymore. He was back to his pleasant attitude of calmness and teasing here and there.

Maki's cheeks suddenly went bright red as she caught Mina smiling at him. This made Rai's grin even more mischievous. The priestess was currently wearing a Kimono, something Rai had lent to her. It was a traditional dress that came from Payon, and it's vibrant colors suited Mina's cheerfulness.

"I mean, maybe it's the time you tell Mina." Rai told him.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The song suddenly became a slow dance, and Maki seemed uncomfortable. Suddenly, someone tapped Maki's shoulder. He glanced to his side to find Seth, grinning widely.

Seth said, "May I cut in and take the beautiful lady for a spin?"

The crusader raised his eyebrow at the cheesiness of the line, but Seth didn't seem all that serious. Maki shrugged and walked off to get another drink as Rai, with an expression of grimace, started dancing with Seth.

"Hey, Rai." Seth whispered to her with a smile.

Rai frowned at him.

Seth chuckled at her and gave her another grin. "I really wasn't avoiding you."

"Yeah, so you say."

On the opposite side, Mina stood there while staring at Rai and Seth who seemed to be enjoying their selves. She felt happy for her friend, since she knew how genuinely Rai liked the assassin cross. She didn't know Seth that much, but she knew Rai perfectly, and she understood that Rai was serious this time. The priestess had never seen the dancer that much affected by someone avoiding her.

"Mina."

The priestess, with a smile, turned around to meet the eyes of a certain crusader. Maki grinned back at her.

"Where's what's-his-name?" Maki asked her.

"Cain?"

"Is that his name?" Maki replied.

Mina looked at him with a weak smile—he was doing it again, speaking meanly of Cain. She couldn't really understand why Maki still hated Cain, even up to this time.

Of course, Mina was still to naïve to understand.

Maki started, "Mina, you want to da—"

"Hey, priestess, you want to take a walk?"

Maki stared as the blacksmith who had danced with Mina previously suddenly popped out of nowhere. Mina stared at Maki who had an expression of disbelief and frustration.

Mina tilted her head at the blacksmith. She couldn't understand what the blacksmith would possibly want. "Uhm… sure?"

Several people around the crusader stared at his drink as he unconsciously crushed the wooden cup. Mina, still confused, followed the blacksmith who led her to a desolate area under a palm tree.

Mina looked around—it was a great distance from all the celebration, and even the music was becoming faint. She had to admit, though… it was nice and peaceful. There was an awful stench that blended with everything perfect, though—

"Are you drunk?" Mina asked bluntly.

He seemed to be staggering. Yes, he was definitely drunk. "You're really pretty, you… hic… know that?"

Mina stood there, looking annoyed at the blacksmith.

Suddenly, the priestess gasped as the blacksmith suddenly pinned her against the wall, his ragged breathing rough against her cheek. It was disgusting, to say the least. Mina frowned as she tried to break free, but her being a priestess, she just wasn't that strong.

The blacksmith suddenly ripped her Kimono's cloth from the right sleeve to the neckline, making Mina wince. This wasn't even her kimono. Rai would surely be pissed at her.

She wasn't _that_ helpless, though. It was just a lowly blacksmith. Just a kick to his crotch would cause him to limp on the sand, whimpering in his drunken glory.

And that's just what she did: she kicked him on the crotch.

"Stupid blacksmith." She grumbled under her breath. Mina tried desperately to keep the Kimono from falling apart. It was a good thing she was far from the crowd, she could just find something to change in then head back, like nothing had happened. She had to think of an excuse, though.

"What the hell?" A familiar voice suddenly called out. Mina glanced up to see Cain, starting at her weirdly then at the whimpering blacksmith on the ground. His smokie was following him from behind. The blacksmith, probably too embarrassed to have been beaten by a priestess, and too drunk to comprehend, walked away in a drunken stupor.

Mina's face went bright red as she tried to keep the Kimono up, her shoulders showing off skin that she was too modest to want to show off. Cain slowly approached her, his expression back to placidness.

"What the hell are you doing, priestess?"

Mina growled at him. "Shut up."

She seemed hurt, though. He was back to calling her by anything but her name, as if they hadn't known each other for months now. There might be a reason as to why both Cain and Seth were acting weird, though. Mina just couldn't find the words to ask.

"Cain, are you alright?" Mina whispered, her voice nervous. Cain was staring at her bare shoulder that she was trying to desperately to conceal.

He seemed troubled. It was the same expression he had the first time they met, when Mina saw him contemplating on something. It was the same expression that led her to try talking to him in the first place. That time, when she offered help, he had given dominance and showed her that he didn't need any kind of help.

Mina's eyes widened as he suddenly grabbed a katar and stuck the blunt side of the cold blade against her neck.

"Cain…?" She whispered. Mina was starting to tremble.

"Let go of your hand. I want to look at something."

Mina stared at him with wide eyes. Even the smokie seemed to understand the situation and looked up at its master with a growling expression.

Inside of Mina's mind, chibi versions of herself were freaking out. _Was Cain going to rape her? WHY?_

Cain growled, and Mina shut her eyes as she let go of her hand. The clothing fell down to just up to under her collarbone, exposing what Cain wanted to see.

He brought up his other hand and began searching for it. Mina suddenly tried to break free when he pinned her against the trunk of the palm tree, using his own figure as a cage. Mina stared up at him angrily, not understanding what was happening.

This was the Cain she had met before. The cruel Cain who didn't care at all. She thought she knew another side of him—the one who was just too afraid. Again, she was mistaken.

He finally found it. The small red tattoo of a dainty star, right there on her right collarbone; just like Seth had told him.

"Where'd you get this?" Cain asked her. Of course, he already knew.

She stared at him. "I don't know. It's been there forever."

Mina was shocked when he suddenly punched the tree behind her, causing it to tremble wildly. He seemed so angry at something.

The priestess finally spoke up. "Cain, what's going on?"

"You trouble me." Cain grumbled under his breath as he let go of her. He walked a couple of steps away and plopped down on the sand.

"Look, if you need to kill me for some unknown reason…" Mina said to his back. "Then just go ahead, don't make me stand here confused."

"Shut up, or I just might."

Mina frowned at him. She had the sudden urge to kick him, though it probably wouldn't be of any use. Cain's smokie walked up to him, but Cain swatted it away cruelly.

"Cain!" Seth's voice suddenly called out. Both Mina and Cain looked up at the direction to see Seth running to them. "C'mon, we're leaving."

Cain blinked at his partner. "Why?"

"I can't do it. Actually, I can… I won't do it." Seth said, frowning at him. "Damn you, you gave me such a stupid condition."

Cain smirked.

Seth suddenly realized that Mina was there. He looked her up and down, noticed her destroyed clothing, then looked back at Cain. "Should I have arrived a bit later?"

"Shut up." Cain said.

"What's going on?" Mina asked, frustrated.

"Where can your warps bring us, Mina?" Seth asked her, ignoring her question.

Mina eyed him. "Geffen, Prontera, Alberta. Why?"

Seth nodded then looked at Cain. "I'll side with you on this one, but only if you're sure. I still don't get why you're frigging doing this."

Cain stared at Seth. "I don't like him."

Seth nodded. He knew who Cain was referring to, and that was their guild leader. Seth knew there was another reason, though, and that was Mina.

"May I have a warp hole to Alberta, please?" Seth smiled at Mina.

Mina stared at him, then rummaged in her pockets for a blue gem. She started chanting and threw the gem in the air, as it suddenly became a whirlpool of light on the ground. Seth nodded at Cain and stepped in, and after awhile disappeared.

"You guys confuse me." Mina told Cain, who had stood up.

"Get in.

Mina blinked. "What?"

"Get in!"

"No!"

Mina growled as Cain suddenly nudged the Smokie inside the warp portal. There was a momentarily expression of shock on the pet's face as it disappeared.

"I'm not getting in." Mina said bluntly.

"People are after your worthless life." Cain said. "If you don't get in now, I swear I'm going to leave you to rot."

"And if you don't tell me what's going on—"

Mina's voice was suddenly cut off as Cain grabbed her and stepped into the warp portal. They both felt that usual dizzy phenomenon of going through it, and when Mina opened her eyes, she was in the quiet streets of Alberta. Cain let go of her and she wobbled into the cobalt streets of the city.

"What do you think you're doing!" Mina screamed at the two assassin crosses. Cain rolled his eyes and started walking towards the inn, his smokie following after him again.

Mina stood there, frustrated. Seth approached her and ruffled her hair.

"I think he really likes you." Seth whispered to Mina's ear. "You're the third girl I've seen he's risking his life to save."

Mina blinked. "Third?"

Seth nodded. "The first two were his mother and Cheska. You've met Cheska, am I right?"

Mina nodded and looked up at Seth, who was grinning at her.

"You must excuse Cain…" Seth told her, as he grabbed her wrist and started walking towards the inn. "He just wants to protect you. Please, even if you don't understand, just go along with it."

The priestess kept quiet.

"You know, he's pretty funny." Seth suddenly said. "His condition was that he'd kill you if I did the same thing to Rai. Thing is, he only made that damn condition because he knows I wouldn't be able to do it. I can't believe I fell for it."

"Ah…"

"The fool knows me to well." Seth sighed. "Now I'm stuck babysitting you, too."

_**To Be Continued…**_

**_A/N:_** I think this is the quickest I updated a chapter. I can't put a finger on it, but it just seems… different? Dunno. I don't like it when it's all serious, but I'm not very good at inserting goofy stuff. XD Sorry.


	8. Abduction

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

It had been roughly a month since Mina had vanished that night in Comodo. To add to it, the two suspicious Assassin Crosses had vanished at the same time. Now then, what conclusion could you get from someone like Mina who had a secret behind her identity, vanishing the same time two notorious assassins did?

Of course, Rai didn't know the secret of Mina's identity. Even Mina didn't know it herself. Very few people were informed about it, and one of them was Maki, who was very aggravated at the whole situation. Rai was just as aggravated as he was. He was promoted to a Paladin because of some information he had passed on to his officers, and he also had his own troop now for an assignment Rai didn't understand.

The assignment—search all cities and towns for the blonde-haired priestess named Mina. Rai loved Mina dearly, but she didn't know what was so special about her friend that a whole battalion under the King's name would go looking for her. They had been searching for her for weeks now, though, and there still wasn't a trace.

"Maki, what's so special about Mina?" Rai blinked as she faced her friend who now brought about a new uniform, that of a Paladin's.

Maki blinked back at her. "Everything about her."

The dancer threatened to get her whip and beat the soul out of him. She growled at him. "I'm not asking about why you're in love with her, you doofus! I'm asking why tons of guys are looking for her!"

The paladin laughed at his friend. He knew how much she missed him, but she still couldn't help but speculate the oddness of the situation. Maki was high up into the ranks of the Pronteran army, and he knew secrets that only very few people knew. Rai knew that he knew why Mina was so special, but he just wouldn't tell her.

"Maki, please." She said with a scowl.

The paladin grinned at her. "You remember how I hated it when you guys hung out with those two sins?"

The dancer blinked. She would never forget how Maki detested Cain and Seth.

"There was a reason." Maki replied. "Mina's life is more precious than you think, but she doesn't know about it… why do you think I'm so protective of her?"

"I thought you were in love of her." Rai replied bluntly.

The paladin ignored her obvious reply. "You remember how you said Mina would look exactly like the late prince, if it weren't for the hair and the—uh…"

"Almost non-existent breasts." Rai announced loudly.

Maki's face went bright red. 'Yeah, uh…"

"Is she of royal blood, Maki?"

The paladin smiled at her, his face still bright red. He brought up his finger and made a shushing gesture. He reverted his voice to a whisper and pulled Rai close to be able to talk softly to her ear. "The coronation has been held off until Mina's existence is confirmed. We've been given six months."

Rai's face brightened. "Mina's a princess!"

"Geh!" Maki clamped his hand over her mouth. "Quiet! So many people are after her life because they want this Axis guy to get the prince's crown."

The paladin yelped as his hand was suddenly bitten by the dancer. The dancer broke free of his hand and whispered back to him, "Is the Axis guy terrible?"

"No, but his uncle is." Maki paused after he said that. "And don't tell anyone… but I think it was his uncle who hired the assassins to get the late prince, and also the one who's after Mina right now."

Silence.

"Maki…"

"Hum?"

Rai looked up at him. "Do you think Mina's alive?"

Maki shrugged, and there was a hint of depression in his eyes.

…………

"It fits Mina perfectly!" Seth said brightly as Mina, with a bright red face turned around just like he ordered. She was wearing a brand new priestess uniform. Mina had been wearing very huge shirts and baggy pants that the two assassins lent to her for some time now, after her bag of clothing was left back in Comodo. She couldn't go around wearing a ripped Kimono, of course.

"T-thanks, Seth." Mina said softly, embarrassed that she was being asked to model it. "It does fit perfectly."

"I got it from some people down at the market." Seth beamed. "I was surprised that someone would even be selling it, since I thought only the Prontera Church had it."

"Where'd you get it?" The priestess asked him.

"Black market."

Silence. He probably meant it was what people used when they wanted to pose and break in somewhere.

Mina looked at him with an expression of disbelief and a force smile. "T-thanks… I think."

They were in a small house that Seth had rented until they could get out of Alberta. Mina was still confused on why she was there, but neither of the assassins wanted to tell her. It had been a month already, and she gave up asking. She just had to trust them, since they didn't try to hurt her anyway. They had been the most accommodating as possible, other than the rude remarks Cain did.

"What the hell?" Cain's voice called out as he suddenly reappeared by the door, a smokie on his head. He eyed Mina who turned around to face him, in her new priestess clothes.

"I found Mina new uniforms." Seth grinned. "Fits her perfectly, right?"

"I think it's too loose in the chest part. Her breasts are as flat as a chopping board." Cain replied bluntly as he walked across the room to get something from the kitchen.

Seth stared with amusement as a slipper came flying across the room towards Cain, who ducked it without any effort. It hit the wooden wall with a quiet _thump._

"SHUT UP, CAIN." Mina roared, pointing an accusing finger at him. "It's not my fault!"

Cain shrugged and bit into an apple as he stared back at her with lack of interest.

There was a moment of glaring between the two until Seth broke the silence. He stood up and clapped his hands, announcing, "I'mma go get some dinner."

"I'll go with you!" Mina said quickly, as she rushed after him. She turned around for a moment and looked at Cain's smokie, calling out to it, "Come, Smokie, I'll feed you."

The smokie bounced down from Cain's head, much to Cain's gratitude. It jumped up to Mina's arm as the priestess stuck her tongue out at Cain and followed Seth out the door. Cain ignored her completely.

The streets of Alberta were busy with merchants, blacksmiths, alchemists, whitesmiths and biochemists. It was of course the home of most merchants, it being the home to the merchant guild. It probably rivaled Prontera when it came to market size, and there was a huge assortment of products you can find.

"What do you want for dinner?" Seth asked the priestess who was eyeing an accessory shop. She seemed so engrossed at a certain necklace that she didn't even hear Seth's question. Seth approached her with a curious look and glanced at the necklace—a silver pendant of a feather decorated it, yet it was as intricate as it could get. "What is it, Mina?"

Mina blinked herself out of her reverie and looked up at Seth. She looked embarrassed as she replied, "Nothing, sorry!"

Seth grinned at her and they started walking away. He knew why Mina was so captivated by it, though. Rai had the exact same necklace, and no doubt, Mina already missed her friends. Seth felt a bit guilty for keeping Mina away from them for a reason he didn't know, but he was doing it half for Mina, half for Cain.

"Are you still upset that we took you away?" Seth asked her, patting her blonde hair carefully.

Mina blinked up at him. "I'm not upset. I'm just confused."

Seth chuckled. "Yeah, I bet."

The priestess smiled at him and they continued their search for food. Seth was much kinder and sweeter than Cain, but Mina had also seen the side of him, which labeled him an assassin cross. He had the same glares of Cain which made it so hard to figure out what he was thinking, and he could be so serious at times that you wouldn't recognize his voice. Unlike Cain, though, he acted so nonchalantly when he wanted to.

"Is it true that you couldn't kill Rai?" Mina asked suddenly.

Seth blinked at looked at her. It was a question she had been meaning to ask since a month ago, when he mentioned it. She never did find the opportunity, but since the necklace reminded her of the dancer, she just popped out her curiosity. Seth scratched the back of his neck. "Uh…"

"I'm sorry, because of me, you had to leave her in Comodo." Mina said.

The assassin cross blinked at her again. "You were the reason we were even in Comodo, though."

"Huh?"

Mina's curiosity was cut short when there was suddenly an announcement throughout the street. A tall man holding parchments of papers stood on a pavement. "Five months from now, when all goes well, a new prince will be stand high for his coronation. He goes by the name of Axis the Third, son of King Tristan's distant cousin—"

The priestess's hearing was suddenly diminished as a hand hit her square on the neck. The next thing she could remember was a sudden pain in the back and everything went black and cold.

Seth was listening to the announcement, and he turned around to say something to Mina when he realized she was gone. Panic ensued in his nonchalant brain as his eyes widened and he looked around—no trace at all. What kind of assassin cross was he? He let his guard down to listen to some stupid announcement.

"Cain's going to kill me." He growled under his breath.

"I'm sure of that." Cain's voice came suddenly as he stepped beside his partner. Seth blinked at him. "What did you do this time?"

"Nice weather, isn't it?"

Blink-stare-silence.

"By the way, Mina suddenly disappeared."

Everyone in that street reverted their attention from the announcer to the assassin cross who suddenly tried to hit his partner in the head. There was a loud nervous chuckle as Seth ducked down to avoid the kick directed towards his head, and a glide to the left when another attack tried to hit him.

"C'mon, Cain, it was a simple mistake!" Seth called out nervously as he ducked from yet another attack. Cain had another expressionless mask on, but it was obvious that he was displeased with his partner's irresponsibility. "Hey! Quit it!"

In the midst of the kicking and ducking, they both suddenly stopped and simultaneously kicked a priest to the ground. It was a priest who they knew well—someone who worked in their black guild. He had a panicked face as Cain growled at him.

"Where is she?" Cain asked.

He shook his head, frightened.

Seth glared down at him too and brought out his katar, aiming it at the priest's spine.

"A-at warehouse three!" The priest said quickly. He knew that this two certain assassin crosses were as notorious as they were to the outside world as they were in the guild.

"Who did this?" Seth asked, cracking his knuckles.

The priest seemed hesitant, and then said, "Jhayse!"

Cain and Seth stared at each other. Jhayse was the name of one of the lowly blacksmiths who was always trying to suck it up with their guild master. He had a couple of thugs under him. He was also the same person who they found running after Mina, that night in Prontera when they saw her the second time.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Cain said under his breath at the crowd of people who were circling them. They look frightened by his glare, and the crowd soon dispersed.

"Last question." Seth asked, addressing the priest. "Why?"

"She's wanted, dead or alive in the d-dark market."

And with that last answer, the priest's vision went dark as Cain's elbow met with his back.

…………

Mina woke up to loud voices around her. Something didn't seem right. For one thing, there was a throbbing pain on her back and she couldn't move her arms. Everything she could see was merely a blur, and her head hurt like hell. She tried to gain focus and tried to figure out whom the voices belonged to.

The place she was in looked like a huge warehouse which collected nothing but dust. It was dark and only a few streaks of sunlight from holes in the ceiling got it's way in. There was a small exit door that seemed useless as of the moment.

"She's awake." Said a rough voice. The priestess gasped as she saw who was in front of her. The blacksmith who tried to kill her back in Prontera. Right beside him was that stalker who had the same goal back then.

"What's going on?" Mina snarled. Her wrists were tightly tied at the back with strong rope, and she could feel them bleeding from the rigidity they were tied. Her ankles were also hurting and tied in the same way. Mina was sitting on the ground, against a wall.

The priestess blinked as Cain's smokie cowered beside her. It must have followed her all the way there, and even though it seemed afraid, it stuck to her like glue.

"Quiet, princess." The stalker said, glaring at her. They didn't seem to mind the smokie.

Mina glared back at him. What the hell was he talking about? Why was all this happening to her in the first place? Nobody cared about her at all before, and suddenly everyone just seemed more than pleased to take her away from where she was.

The blacksmith approached her and cupped her face, forcing her to look up. His hands were rough and made Mina's face twitch. With a smirk, the old blacksmith said, "She's pretty cute. Looks exactly like the prince."

"Everyone keeps saying that." Mina growled. As if annoyed at the fact that everyone kept repeating it and that a blacksmith was cupping her face, she suddenly bit his hand furiously. He yelped in pain and backed away, massaging his hand.

"Why you—" The stalker started.

"Don't touch me." Mina said, disgust clear in her voice.

She was suddenly pinned by the stalker, his hands flat against the wall on either side of her head. His breath was so foul that Mina looked thoroughly disgusted by it.

"Don't talk to the boss like—"

His threat suddenly became a yell of pain as Mina banged her head against his. She had cast Impositio on herself before doing so, so that it would have been stronger than it really was. He was a stalker, though. He was hurt more because of surprise. Blood streamed down his forehead, so did Mina's.

"I told you not to touch me!" Mina retorted.

"Feisty." The blacksmith said. "I like that."

The stalker grinned widely as the blacksmith cracked his knuckles.

"You know what we do to feisty girls, princess?"

Mina glared at them.

The stalker licked his fingers sadistically and winked at Mina. "We take advantage of them."

The priestess looked at them, horrified. They were slowly walking towards her, and they didn't seem off-guard this time. There was no way she could fight them off if they went against her like this. The stalker's hand came first and it reached for Mina's neck, when Cain's smokie suddenly bit it. He didn't seem the least bit hurt as he smirked at the smokie.

"Don't hurt it!" Mina begged, as the stalker took the smokie in his hand.

"I ignored it all the way, 'coz it seemed so pathetic." The stalker started. "But since—"

The smokie slapped the stalker's face with his tail and jumped right off when he was distracted. It cowered behind Mina again, peeking out in a frightened manner.

"You're as pathetic as it." The blacksmith said with a loud laugh. "This is how you do it." Then he reached out for Mina quickly. Mina shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the unyielding grip that would strangle her neck.

Yet, it never came. All she heard were bodies being kicked and flown about. Hesitatingly, she slowly opened her eyes to find both Seth and Cain trashing the stalker and blacksmith.

"Cain… Seth!" Mina called out, surprised. The smokie seemed to think it was secure now, as it ran out of it's hiding place and stared up at Cain. Cain stared right back at it.

"Mina, are you alright?" Seth asked, glancing at the priestess. The priestess nodded in reply, not really knowing what to say.

"Why's your forehead bleeding?" Cain asked her suddenly. "Did they do that?"

Mina's face suddenly went red and she shook her head furiously. She didn't want to tell them that she had banged her head against the stalker's. It seemed so unlike of her.

"You two!" The blacksmith called out as he stood up. He was trembling. He knew who the two assassin crosses were, them being two of the most notorious when it came to dirty jobs. "Why are you protecting her?"

The stalker stood up, and his face suddenly beamed. "I bet they want the reward, too. Y-you can have her!"

Seth stared at the stalker with a face of disgust. "We never hurt pretty ladies like this, though."

The blacksmith and stalker seemed surprised when Cain took a step forward.

"I'll give you idiots a tip." Cain said with placidness. "When you have a job to get someone, dead or alive, you always take the first choice. Especially if the life's worthless, or you'll just keep losing your targets this way."

Mina suddenly found her voice as she snarled, "Cain, you idiot!"

The blacksmith and the stalker faced each other then nodded, and then they suddenly started running towards the door in panic. Seth's eyes widened as he started running after the two. He was yelling, "Hey, I want to give you tips too! This is so unfair!"

Cain blinked as his partner rushed out after the two opponents. His partner was probably getting bored about not being able to do dirty jobs that he just needed an excuse to battle it out. He stood there for a while, and he seemed to forget that Mina was right behind him. He remembered when the smokie suddenly bit his leg.

He glanced down at the smokie that pointed its head towards Mina. The smokie ran towards Mina and snuggled against her lap.

"Ah." Cain mumbled. "Right."

Mina glared at him as he knelt down beside her and cut the ropes on her ankles. She tried to move them right away, but she winced as the blood crept back to them. She had been stuck in the same position for so long that it was already straining her blood flow.

Cain glared down at the wounds on her ankles; the blacksmith and stalker had tied it too tightly for comfort. He reached behind her and cut the ties on her wrists.

"Thanks." Mina mumbled as she started stretching her limbs. He shrugged and stood up and saw the smokie staring up at Mina. It actually looked more concerned than he did.

Mina didn't say anything, and she seemed so upset that she didn't even look Cain in the eye. She just sat there, waiting for the blood to warm in her limbs again before she could walk normally.

"What?" Cain snarled.

Mina stared at the ground and started healing the wounds on her wrists and ankles. "Nothing."

He rolled his eyes. Why were girls always doing that? Saying 'nothing' when there was obviously 'something'.

Silence.

"Get up. The smokie's hungry." Cain said. The smokie blinked. It really _was_ hungry.

"Yeah." Mina forced a smile at the smokie and tried to get up, but her legs still resisted. Cain rolled his eyes and stood there, waiting.

"What's wrong, Mina?"

The priestess blinked and looked up at him. Did he actually call her by her first name? Wait, no—did he actually ask her a question that had a hint of care? Which was more believable?

"Is my life really worthless?" She asked with frustration. If it were so worthless, why the heck were people so intent on taking it?

"For them, yes." Cain replied. He held out his hand and gestured for her to take it. She blinked and reached her hand out as he pulled her up easily. Mina was still as light as a feather to him. "But to me, it's not. Why else would be protecting you, idiot?"

The priestess's eyes widened as her legs suddenly buckled under her. The smokie ran around in panic as Mina was about to trip towards the ground.

You know in those mushy shows where the leading lady falls, and the leading guy just always _happens_ to catch her perfectly? Well, it didn't happen here. Cain didn't seem to care.

Just kidding.

He caught Mina's frail body in his arms, and a momentarily blush crept up to Mina's cheeks as he helped her stand up straight. She kept her hands on his shoulders for support, and they were nervously gripping the leather of his uniform. The smokie stared up at them, still freaking out. But now for an entirely different reason—why was his master actually helping somebody out? This was new, even to someone who followed him around every minute of the day.

And just like in those mushy shows, there's always a distraction.

"Cut it out, I'm hungry." Seth suddenly called out as he reappeared behind the two of them. Mina went bright red as she let go of Cain's shoulder and frantically picked the smokie up. Even the smokie seemed to be staring at her skeptically, just like Seth was staring at Cain.

Silence.

"Okay, fine, did I come at a bad time again? Just go ahead and do your thing." Seth suddenly said out loudly.

Katars came flying past again, aimed for Seth. This time, though, Mina wished they hit it's target.

In one of the dark corners of the warehouse, another assassin cross concealed herself. She had auburn hair and a menacing stare that rivaled Cain's.

"So… it's true that the son of the guild leader decided to against us." She muttered under her breath as she disappeared completely.

_**To Be Continued**_

**_A/N:_** A miracle. Isang himala. OO A fast update again. I'm updating every other day now… omg. Strokes of inspirations? XD Roflololol.


	9. Scarlet Eyes

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

"Pet Food."

"Stop fussing over that darn smokie." Cain said to the priestess as he glanced at her at the corner of his eyes. Mina rolled her eyes, in her arms was her namesake, curled into a ball and nibbling the tips of her golden blond hair. It looked frustrated that it's master wouldn't buy it food, like Mina had requested.

"It's getting thinner." Mina stated.

"Good. It was too fat before." Cain replied.

They were walking in the busy streets of Al de Baran. Mina was getting used to the fact that she might just have no escape at the mean time, and she was quite happy that Cain actually accompanied her every time she would go out. It seemed like him and Seth would take turns, even though it was always Seth who was more willing to do it. Just this time, Seth said he wanted to finish something, so Cain was the one who went along.

Mina just had to make do with what was happening. She was the kind of person who adapted to the situation and knew how to be herself even though she could agree that it was frustrating to have two people follow her around all day. The only time they let her out of their sight was when she did stuff like take a bath, even though Seth had once hinted that he would follow her until there. Cain's blades bombarded him again when he said that, of course.

"Cain, get it some pet food!" Mina stomped her foot, stopping right in front of Cain and stopping him in his tracks. He was a lot taller than her, so he stared down at her crossly, looking annoyed as usual. Mina and the smokie looked up at him with the same expression—frustration.

"Why don't you buy it yourself?" Cain asked her.

"Because you dragged me all the way here, remember? And all my stuff was left back in Comodo, which I hope Rai brought with her…" She looked up at him. "Besides, it's your pet. You should learn how to be responsible for it."

He rolled his eyes and pushed her aside to get past her. Mina, being the clumsy girl she was, got surprised and was sent bumping into a cloaked figure. Cain blinked as Mina, smokie in her hands, and the cloaked figure all fell into a heap on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Mina called out frantically, letting go of the smokie so she could help the person up. The person blinked at her with soft eyes. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking…!"

The person brought down the hood of her cloak and blinked at Mina, wondering why she was apologizing when her companion had clearly pushed her aside. When she brought her hood, soft eyes met with Mina's. It was a petite girl with scarlet eyes. Mina and her blinked at each other for a while.

The girl looked at Cain, who was staring at the smokie irritably. It was trying to get Cain to carry it, like an annoying little child.

"Hey there, Cain." The girl said.

This caused Cain to look up at the girl for a moment. Without a reply, he snubbed her and looked directly in front of himself.

"Eh?" Mina stared at the girl then back at Cain. The girl was staring at Cain with an intense gaze. The priestess looked at her expression and looked a bit confused since the girl was staring at Cain with an expression Mina couldn't translate.

"My name's Scarlet." The girl smiled at Mina and shook her hand. "I'm Cain's guild mate… well, ex-guild mate. I heard he left us for some girl, and now I can see why."

"Eh?" Mina repeated.

"Let's go." Cain said suddenly, grabbing Mina's wrist and literally dragging her away from Scarlet. Mina looked very confused as she was dragged away by Cain, and she glanced at Scarlet who was eyeing them carefully.

When they were a safe distance away, Cain suddenly stopped walking, causing Mina to bump into his back.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you're too clumsy." Cain muttered at her. She glared at him—it was his fault; both times. "Go ahead, I need to ask that girl something."

Mina looked surprised as Cain suddenly started walking back towards the crowd. She stood there, not knowing what was going on. The smokie had followed Cain, and she just hoped that Cain didn't leave it in the middle of nowhere. She really couldn't understand why a smokie was following a person who didn't care about it at all.

With a shrug, Mina started back for the house that Seth rented for them. It was a small one, not too shabby and just right for three people their size. Mina had gotten the only room, even though she insisted that she could sleep on the couch.

She pushed the wooden door open to find it empty. Where was Seth? He must be out doing what he was talking about before. Mina crept her way to the kitchen to find something to eat. Even though she kept stuffing herself with food all the time, she just never seemed to gain weight. Even Seth and Cain seemed to notice the way she was too skinny, but she really didn't know why her body never seemed to gain any weight.

She started munching on an apple as she sat down on a stool beside a desk. Mina blinked to find an array of crumpled papers on the desk. Curiously, she picked up one and saw a neatly scribbled 'Hey, Rai' that had a strike across it. It was quite a waste of paper, if she might say so herself.

Mina unfolded another one, and another one. They all seemed to be addressed to her best friend, but never anything that went past 'What's up?'

"I want to explain to her." Seth's voice suddenly said out loud from behind her. Mina screamed in surprise and her apple went flying in the air, which Seth caught with no effort.

"S-sorry!" Mina said right away. "I didn't mean to snoop!"

"It's alright." Seth replied, though his face was bright red with embarrassment. He took a seat on a stool beside Mina's and handed her the apple. "I think Rai and Maki both think we did something really terrible to you, you know?"

Mina laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. It's my fault."

Seth blinked at her. "You say sorry too often."

"Ah. Sorry."

Blink-blink.

"Anywaaay," Seth started with a smirk. "After a couple of months of hiding, you'd be able to go out safely, I suppose. Do you think you can clear my name with Rai?"

Mina stared at him and tilted her head a bit. "Why don't you tell her?" She picked up a piece of crumpled paper. "I mean, it seemed like that was the idea."

"I'm not very good with words."

The priestess seemed shocked with this, and Seth read her expression.

"You're very naïve, aren't you?" Seth grinned at her.

Mina blinked again. "Excuse me?"

"You don't realize facades, I mean." The assassin cross replied. "…just like Rai."

"I suppose I don't." Mina smiled at him. "But, I know two sides of you."

Seth looked at her, confused. "What?"

"I know two sides of you." Mina repeated with a huge grin. She put up two fingers and pointed at him to emphasize her point. "I know the one who's an assassin cross, the one who's really serious and scary at times… I mean, you even threatened to kill me when we first met. The other side of you is the real you, I think, though Cain said you're just being a baby. When you're all goofy and helpful and really nice to Rai, and that's the side I like better."

Seth laughed. "You think so?"

"Actually, I believe that all people only have one side." She blinked, looking confused even at herself, who was doing the talking. "But of course, you act differently to other people because that's just the way it is."

The assassin cross smiled at her. "What about Cain? What side do you see in him?"

"Huh?" Mina blinked. Why would he ask about Cain of all people? "Let's see… uhm, Cain. He's actually really simple, actually… I think. There's just stopping him to care, his past maybe? I don't know, he doesn't really let me know him."

"I think you know him perfectly."

"I do?" Mina tilted her head again.

Seth started laughing. "Man, I see why Maki and Cain like you."

Mina blinked and then she started waving her hands frantically again and her face was bright red. "Don't say that, you might offend them!"

…………

"What are you doing here, Scarlet?" Cain asked her as they leaned against the wall of a dark alley. Cain eyed the girl who was holding her coat in her hands. She had the uniform of a lady assassin cross. "Did _he_ send you here?"

Scarlet smiled at him calmly. "Good to see you, too."

He shrugged in reply. He didn't seem very intimidating with a smokie perched on his head.

"He did send me here." Scarlet whispered. "He asked me to get that Mina girl."

Cain looked at her sternly.

"You made him really serious about this job, Cain." Scarlet eyed him, her hands grasping the wall tightly. "You, of all people, going against him? How dim can you be? It's as if you don't remember the last time you went against him."

"I wanted to get out of that damn guild anyway."

Scarlet grinned at him. "I know. It's just that you really angered him this time."

"He's always angry. I don't care."

Scarlet nodded. The sun was starting to set.

"Why didn't you kill her?" Cain asked Scarlet.

"Because…" Scarlet started. "If the notorious pair, Seth and Cain, didn't do it… I knew there should have been a damn good reason, and I wanted to find out first. Even though the reason is pretty dim, it's your own fault though."

Cain shrugged.

"I'm still going after her, though." Scarlet told him with a smile.

"Whatever." Cain replied to her.

Scarlet laughed and prepared to leave. Before making her exit, she turned around and glanced at the smokie on Cain's head. She asked, "Did you really catch that thing? It's so surreal."

Cain shrugged and looked up at the smokie that was staring at Scarlet. It looked like he had a Lazy Raccoon hat.

…………

Seth called out to the priestess who was leaving the house, "Where are you going?"

Mina grinned at the assassin cross. "I'm going to go wait for Cain outside." She said cheerfully. Apparently, the pet food in her hands said she had another agenda. Even though she scolded Cain for not feeding the Smokie, she just couldn't help but do it herself anyway.

Seth nodded. What were the chances of another attack, anyway? Mina gave him one last smile before going out the door. She walked towards the main street where Cain would probably come from. The sunset was so pretty, and the streets were getting quiet already. She sat down on a bench and looked up at the orange sky.

Suddenly, a face bobbed up and stared down at hers.

"Hey there."

Mina, surprised, jumped up. She looked at the man—a high priest that was, if she would admit it, pretty good-looking. He smiled at her genuinely.

"What are you doing at a place like this?" He asked.

"Uhm…" Mina started, fidgeting the food in her hands. "I'm waiting for someone."

He nodded and reached out his hand to shake hers. Gingerly, she accepted.

"Would you like some company?"

Mina smiled at him. It had been awhile since she actually made new friends, since she had always been under the watchful eyes of Seth and Cain. She didn't need t be suspicious of _everyone. _Besides, he looked like a pretty nice person.

The priestess sat down on the bench, and the high priest sat down beside her. He was a great deal taller than her, probably the same height as Cain, she observed.

"So, where are you from?"

Mina smiled at him again. "I'm actually from Geffen, but I came here with a couple of friends."

He nodded. "I heard Geffen's a great place."

She blinked; she hadn't met a lot of people with that age that hadn't been to Geffen. "Yeah, it's a great place."

"Not as great as Comodo, though."

Mina's face brightened. Comodo was her favorite place! "I agree. I love Comodo."

He chuckled and looked at her for a moment. "So, aren't you supposed to be a high priestess soon?"

The priestess smiled at him sheepishly. "I'm actually at the rank to do so, but I haven't got around to going to Juno to get blessed yet."

The high priest nodded. "Well, don't get too excited. Juno's not that great a place."

Suddenly, a lone figure came walking from the opposite direction. Mina looked at it for a while and once she saw the figure of a smokie on his head, she knew it was Cain. Cain walked up to her and eyed the high priest beside her, looking at him skeptically.

"Good day." The high priest said out to him.

"It's not day anymore." Cain muttered under his breath sarcastically. He snubbed him and went of to the direction of the shabby house. The priest looked at his back, but he didn't look offended at all.

"Sorry." Mina smiled at the priest. She stood up to follow Cain, who stopped in his tracks to wait for her to catch up. "He's really not very sociable."

"It's alright."

Mina ran up to Cain and whacked his shoulder, scolding him for being so rude. He simply shrugged it off and let her take the smokie from his head to feed it. As they were walking back, Mina suddenly realized something and stopped in her tracks.

"What?" Cain asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I didn't ask for his name."

The assassin cross shrugged and continued walking. "Who cares?"

"Idiot." Mina mumbled under her breath. "He was such a nice guy."

Axis Coltin sighed to himself as he stood up and brushed his hair behind his ears. He had finally met Mina, who was a fairly pretty and very nice girl. It was a shame that he was practically stealing her place, but he decided it was for the better when he found out that so many people were after her life because of his uncle.

Just outside Alberta at that time, though, a mass of Maki's troops were ready to search the city for the priestess.

_**To Be Continued**_

**A/N: **_Space filler._


	10. Aboard a Ship

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

It seemed like another normal day in Alberta. Mina was reading a book Seth had gotten her and Seth was eating an apple. Cain had gone out to get his weapons upgraded, and the smokie had happily followed after him. It was quiet, save for the bustling of the people in the streets outside. There was an unexplainable aura that neither Mina nor Seth bothered about.

And so, when Seth suddenly shoved Mina down, she was extremely shocked at the intrusion of the peace. A sharp katar suddenly came flying by her head, missing her by just a few centimeters. The katar lodged itself on the wooden wall behind Mina.

"Down!" Seth ordered as he stood up abruptly. "Mina, cast Ruwach."

The priestess was still a bit shocked as a sudden blue light surrounded her, and she gasped when the lady from the day before suddenly appeared, wincing from the light which hit her skin. Her eyes were stern and she stared at Seth, who stared back at her.

"Scarlet." Seth called out, blocking the lady assassin cross from her target, Mina. "What are you doing here?"

Scarlet slowly backed away, her red eyes transfixed on Mina carefully. Mina looked up at her in a confused manner. "What does it look like I'm doing?" Scarlet asked Seth in an obvious tone.

"Tsch." Seth replied simply.

The lady assassin cross was quick. She was suddenly behind Mina as she grabbed her katar from the wall. Seth flinched and grabbed Mina's wrist, going into a defensive stance to protect the priestess. Mina looked at him sadly—she knew that she was slowing him down.

"Why are you after me?" Mina suddenly spoke up. It had been weeks, and she still didn't know her predicament.

Scarlet looked at Mina in an amused manner. "How dim can you be, dear?"

Mina looked offended as she grasped Seth's sleeve; he looked down at her in an apologizing manner.

"Where's Cain?" Scarlet asked.

"He's out." Seth replied. "Obviously."

Scarlet suddenly charged towards Mina, her right hand in a stabbing offense. She was quick, and Seth was slower since he was defending two bodies: his own and Mina's. Seth grabbed Mina and put her behind him as he tried to kick Scarlet's arm. She quickly ducked her hand out of his reach and with a grin, gripped the blunt blade against his cheek.

"This is amusing." Scarlet snickered. "This is the exact proof why Assassins don't live to defend, Seth. It slows us down."

Seth suddenly brought his free arm up, which was now yielding his own weapon. Since Scarlet had attacked with the blunt side out of amusement, she wasn't quick enough to react, so all so she could do was back away. Her scarf was cut as she backed away, and this time, it was Seth who had a grin.

"You're absolutely correct." Seth told her. "So what you say you have to get past me first before I let you touch Mina?"

"Oh, is that her name?"

Mina flinched and looked at Scarlet. Yesterday, when she had bumped this girl, she seemed a lot more polite. Seth glared at Scarlet and told Mina to stay aside.

"Even though you're an assassin," Seth started. "You're one of the people I respect, and I know you won't cheat. Just get past me before you get to her."

Scarlet eyed him carefully. "Are you trying to sweet talk me, blondie?"

Seth smirked. "Is it working?"

The priestess shut her eye as the two assassin crosses suddenly started charging out at each other. They were both very agile and strong, and could evade each other's attack. There were some evades that weren't as lucky, but the most blood that came were scratches.

Scarlet and Seth were equally skilled, Mina thought with horror. She could hardly even see them move, since they both moved like the wind. Lamps were starting to fall, and Mina shook with horror.

Mina yelped as Seth suddenly hit the wall beside her. She reached out to hold him, wanting to cast buffs.

"Quit it, princess." Scarlet pointed a finger at Mina, who stopped in her tracks. "No cheating. Fair and square."

"It's alright, Mina." Seth smiled at Mina and stood up.

There was suddenly a ruckus outside, and Mina stared out the window. People were rushing inside their houses, and a mass of men seemed to be going door to door.

"Shit." Scarlet cursed under her breath. "They're here. They came earlier than I thought."

Seth eyed her. "Who?"

"The princess's pick up." Scarlet said quickly as she came in front of Mina in a second. Mina didn't even have enough time to react when Scarlet raised her weapon in a stance Mina knew well—it was a fatal blow, mixed with poison and strength, and it could even shatter a priestess's magical defense.

_Soul Breaker._

Mina shut her eyes tightly, but Seth was also agile. He countered Scarlet's Soul Breaker with his own, and Scarlet was sent backwards, her weapon flying in the air. Mina panicked as one of her katars lodged itself right beside her.

In a blink of an eye, Seth pinned Scarlet down.

"Cheater." Seth growled.

Scarlet tried fighting him off, but he had much more strength, plus the fact that he had a weapon and she didn't.

"What's going on, Scarlet?" Seth growled, pointing his katar towards her. And unlike her, he wasn't afraid to use the sharp side.

"Pronteran troops." Scarlet replied with grimace. "Looking for the priestess."

"Not that." Seth replied, sinking the blade in deeper. Mina winced and shut her eyes tight—she knew Seth was an assassin cross, but she never saw Seth in a position to actually kill someone before. "Why are you so intent on getting Mina?"

Scarlet's eyes narrowed. "It's my job."

Seth smirked, and Mina noticed this. There seemed to be another reason as Scarlet tried to pry Seth off, but to no avail. Mina suddenly stood up and slowly approached the two assassin crosses.

"Why are the troops after me?" Mina suddenly whispered, as bangs suddenly came to their door. Both the assassins looked panicked when the bangs and shouts came.

Seth was caught off-guard as Scarlet suddenly kicked him off and grabbed his weapon. He gasped as he suddenly hit the floor, and Scarlet grabbed Mina and pointed the katar against her heart. She threatened Seth not to move.

"Scarlet…" Seth growled under his breath.

"This is why," Scarlet whispered to Mina's ear. The priestess winced as Scarlet cut the upper collar of her uniform to reveal a star on her collarbone.

"It's a stupid tattoo." Mina replied softly, wincing as the blade pierced her skin. Blood started dripping down her chest.

"You really are an idiot." Scarlet chuckled. "Don't you know you're the illegitimate daughter of that old fart Tristan?"

…………

A teenager with pitch-black hair walked around the dark streets of Alberta, and there was a smokie on his head that contrasted to the intimidating stare he had. He was having his weapons strengthened by a blacksmith when ruckus suddenly broke in the streets. He eyed as several people entered the building he was in, all panicked.

"What's going on?" The blacksmith who was strengthening his weapons asked the ones who came rushing in.

"Pronteran troops!" A young girl replied. "They ordered the streets to be cleared, they're looking for some girl."

The blacksmith was surprised as Cain suddenly grabbed his weapons and rushed out the door. Even the smokie seemed surprised and fell off Cain's head in pain. It followed his master outside in a hurry.

"Hey, he didn't pay!" Called the blacksmith's voice.

As soon as he got out, Cain concealed himself. The smokie seemed to know where he was going as it followed his hidden figure. The girl was correct—tons of Pronteran men were walking around the town, yelling orders here and there. What surprised him the most was a certain Paladin.

Maki.

Cain stayed in an alley for a while, deep in contemplation. He stared at the smokie that was staring back at his hidden figure.

"Hide yourself, you stupid rat." Cain mumbled.

It growled at Cain's voice and with a _poof _also concealed itself the way Cain did. The assassin cross gave a sigh of relief—it had slipped his mind that smokies really could cloak themselves the way assassin crosses could. It could actually serve useful.

"Let's go." Cain whispered as he suddenly went running towards their house. He passed faces that looked troubled as they knocked on tons of houses. He went around a curb and went running towards their house. He was surprised to men knocking on their door loudly.

"Open up!" A knight yelled. His companion, another knight, approached him.

"Hurry up." His companion growled.

"They won't open the door."

"Maybe they're not home?"

The knight shook his head and said that he could hear voices inside. They both pressed their ears against the wooden door and nodded at each other. In a jiff, they both called out to their leader.

Maki walked up with them with giant strides and listened to their predicament. He nodded at them then banged on the door. "We're going to tear this door off if you don't open it soon!" He yelled inside the house.

_Great. _Cain thought sarcastically. He looked around and tried grasping for the invisible smokie, and found it when it suddenly grabbed his hand. For some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to leave the smokie there. Maybe it was because for it's unreasonable loyalty towards him, he didn't know.

The smokie seemed to understand him as it latched itself on his back. Cain nodded at it and jumped up on the roof of their house. He did it with agility and stealth, so the knights and Maki didn't even seem to suspect him. He was very silent but quick as he turned, upside down and stared inside the window.

His eyes widened at the sight. Scarlet was able to hold Mina hostage. _Damn Seth._

For Cain, Scarlet wasn't that bright. He slowly opened the windowpanes, and Scarlet was too concentrated on Mina to even notice. She seemed to be telling Mina something that was making Mina tremble. With a quick movement, Cain reappeared and pried Scarlet's hands off Mina.

Scarlet was surprised as Cain suddenly kicked her in the abdomen, sending her flying back. Mina's eyes widened as Seth, with equal speed, got up and attacked Scarlet with a heart wrenching Soul Breaker.

"Agh!" Scarlet gasped as she suddenly coughed out blood. She clenched her stomach and seemed to be gasping for air.

"S-Scarlet!" Mina gasped. She tried running towards her when Cain suddenly held her back. He had an angry expression. "Cain, help her!"

"Don't be stupid." Cain replied. Scarlet continued to cough out more blood.

"We're tearing this down!" Maki's voice came yelling.

"Maki!" Mina said, surprised. She had finally realized why the voice was so familiar. The priestess tried to run towards the door when Cain stopped her again.

"Quit being so stupid!" Cain hissed at her.

"Let go!" Mina replied, trying to break free.

"Cain." Seth called his partner. "There's a ship leaving for Izlude. I'll follow."

Cain nodded and grabbed Mina's wrist and started pulling her towards the window. He glanced back one last time to see Seth concealing himself.

"Mina, shut up." Cain hissed at her. She tried pushing him away, but he was just stronger. He forcibly grabbed his small figure and jumped outside and towards an alley that nobody seemed to be minding.

"Cain, letmrmemghh—" Mina said, muffled against his hand. She was struggling. A couple of knights and crusaders passed the alley, and Mina gave in to Cain and shut up for awhile when until they disappeared. Cain had hidden the both of them behind a huge cart.

"Mina—" Cain started.

"Let me see Maki!" Mina hissed at him, trying to push him away. "I can't believe you guys never told me why I'm in such a stupid predicament! You never told me why so many people just _happened_ to want my life, how was I supposed to know that—"

The assassin cross clamped his hand over her mouth again, shushing her as more troops passed. Tears started to form in Mina's eyes, but she blinked them away easily. He slowly let go of his hand and let her speak.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mina whispered.

"You didn't need to know."

Mina's eyes widened at his reply, and started pushing him away again. This was actually the first time Cain had seen her so upset, and he didn't know how to deal with it. Mina's voice was loud again as she started shouting, "I didn't need to know? This is my life!"

"Shut up!" Cain growled. She didn't seem to want to calm down. The priestess wanted to break free and see Maki again. "Mina…"

"What?" She hissed. Cain clamped her mouth for the nth time.

"Just trust me. Please."

Mina looked up at him, and he stared back at her in that same intense way he always did. She had an angry expression—how was she supposed to trust him when she couldn't even understand him?

"People want you killed because you're the princess."

"_You thought I hadn't realized that by now?"_

"What the hell is wrong with you? Shut up!" Cain hissed; he suddenly punched the wall beside her frustratingly. She didn't even flinch a bit as she stared up at him angrily. "These Pronteran troops, you can't trust them. It's better that people don't even know you exist, or else they'll be after your life, just like they were after your brother's."

Mina blinked. "Brother's…?"

"Yeah. The late prince."

"Ah!" Mina brought her hand up to her mouth. In all the confusion, she hadn't even realized that. "I had a brother!"

Cain looked at her weirdly. What was she thinking of at a time like this?

"And… I have a dad…" She whispered. Her back suddenly went slump against the wall behind her. Mina seemed to be thinking about something so deep; she wasn't even paying attention to Cain anymore.

"I promise you'll see that damn Paladin again." Cain muttered to her.

Mina's face shot up and she stared at Cain. Her face brightened suddenly. "Maki's a paladin now? I'm so happy for him!"

The assassin cross rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you annoy me."

The priestess smiled at him brightly. She didn't seem to take his rude comments too seriously anymore.

"We're heading for the ship." He suddenly grabbed her and jumped up on a roof. Surprised, she shrieked. He pushed her head down as a couple of knights looked over to where she had screamed. Cain glanced at Mina, who had a sheepish smile. "Be quiet!"

"I'm sorry!" She retorted. "You surprised me."

He rolled his eyes and picked her up. "Leave it to me. Just shut the hell up."

Cain jumped from roof to roof with stealth, and Mina's weight didn't' seem to bother him. She was still as light as a feather. What seemed to bother him was that she was holding his neck tightly and the fact that she was burying her face to his neck. The priestess seemed so frightened as she tried her best not to scream in fear.

It was all so sudden, and when she felt Cain put her down, she was already on the decks of a ship. They were stowing away, and the ship was leaving in an hour. The knights had already inspected it, so they probably wouldn't come back for it.

The ship wasn't that classy—the wooden planks were already worn out, and there weren't a lot of people onboard. They all stared at Mina skeptically, as if they recognized her from descriptions the knights were talking about. Cain and Mina went to a secluded part of the ship and sat down.

Cain glanced at Mina, who was staring at the ground. She seemed to be thinking about something. Of course she would, she just found out she was actually a princess. The illegitimate daughter of a King.

"I'm so happy…" She suddenly whispered. Cain stared at her. Even though she said she was happy, her hands were trembling uncontrollably. "I have a family. I thought I was alone."

"Ah."

"I mean, my mother died when I was really young." She smiled at him. It looked so genuine. "She never told me about my dad. I didn't know he was a king… and I had a brother! This is so exciting."

Cain looked at her weirdly. It was as if she hadn't even realized the predicament she was in.

"Cain!"

The assassin cross looked surprised as he faced her. She had suddenly called his name out. "What!"

"I'm sorry you had to go through all this." Mina smiled at him. "I know you're only trying to help me out. I really appreciate it."

He shrugged.

"I'll make it easier." She whispered. Mina suddenly pointed in front of her. Blinking, Cain looked at the direction and found an old gypsy man with a sign that said he was a hairdresser.

"Ah," Cain said, surprised. "You don't need to."

"I will!" Mina said cheerfully, suddenly standing up. "Everyone here is pointing and talking about me. I'll make it easier for you, I promise."

"But—"

Mina grinned at him. "I want to be able to do something, too. I don't want anything like what happened to Scarlet happen again."

Cain blinked as she suddenly ran towards the hairdresser, who seemed to think it was a pity she wanted it cut. The assassin cross stared at her happy face. He couldn't understand why she seemed so happy, when he thought the normal reaction to this type of thing was sadness.

She was so different.

He slowly walked towards her and watched as her hair was cut a little past her ears. Cain stared at her for awhile, as she glanced at the long blonde hair that fell on the wooden deck. The gypsy's voice was saying again and again that it was such a waste for such pretty blonde hair to be cut.

Cain agreed, but he didn't say so.

"Brown? You want to get rid of this pretty blonde hair to a color as dirty as brown?"

"Yes!" Mina retorted to the gypsy who seemed to contradict everything she asked for. "I want it brown! Just like a smokie's fur!"

Silence.

Mina stared at Cain, who suddenly started groping around for something invisible.

"Cain, where's your smokie?"

Silence.

"Uh." Cain was still trying to look for it. "It's… gone."

Mina's scream rivaled the engine of the boat as it was suddenly started. Mina and Cain started arguing, and Mina blamed Cain over and over again for his lack of responsibility. The hairdresser seemed annoyed since he was having a hard time dying Mina's hair since she kept bobbing it with each argument she made.

"Relax, you darn newlyweds." Seth's voice suddenly said. The both turned around to see Seth holding a smokie in his arm. "Cain, you should take care of this smo— Mina? Is that you?"

Mina looked up at him with a sheepish smile as she stood up. She looked so different with short brown hair. Her beautiful blonde locks were still displayed on the deck, and the hairdresser sighed at it.

"I suppose it's on the house." The gypsy said. "Since you're newlyweds and all."

"Uh…" Mina laughed sheepishly. At this point, the smokie jumped down from Seth's arm and hopped on Cain's shoulder then on his head. Mina continued, "We're not exactly…"

The gypsy didn't pay attention; he seemed to be mourning about the hair Mina had gotten rid off.

………

"Seth, where'd you get this room?" Mina blinked at the small room they were staying in. It was so hard to move, and there were only two beds. Seth was still complaining about what Mina had done to her hair, but he did agree that it was quite a smart move.

Seth blinked. "What are you talking about? We're stowing away, and I hitched the lock so we can stay in this spare room."

Mina stared at him in disbelief. Cain had already plopped down on a bed. The priestess brushed it off and went towards the small bathroom and locked herself inside for a while.

Seth looked at his partner and said in a low voice, "Why's she so happy?"

Cain shrugged. "I don't know."

"Do you think she's… pretending? I'd be upset if I were in her place."

Cain shrugged. "She even did that to her hair…"

"Mina," Seth whispered. "Why's she doing all this?"

The smokie looked up at the two assassin crosses that were discussing. They both didn't realize that Mina was that rare type of person who tried her hardest to hide her sadness. It would have been a huge blow to find out that you had a father who was actually the king, and find out that the person who abandoned you since birth had always been there right in front of you.

And to find out that you had a brother who was killed by the very same people who were in that room. Also, to find out that people were after your life for something that wasn't your fault—your existence.

Mina came out from the bathroom looking refreshed. She blinked. There were only two beds, and Seth and Cain were on either one of them.

"It's alright." Seth called out. "Sleep beside me!"

Mina laughed sheepishly as Seth suddenly took back what he said. She wondered why he did, and she didn't realize that Cain had glared at his partner.

"It's alright, I'll stay on the floor!" Mina said cheerfully.

Seth blinked. "You do know that there are rodents in these types of ships, right?"

That statement itself sent Mina to take back her offer right away.

"You can stay with Cain." Seth announced.

"What!" Cain and Mina said in unison. Even the smokie seemed surprised.

Seth glared at the two of them. "Well, clearly, even if I want to, I can't stay beside Mina. And I sure as hell wouldn't want to stay beside Cain, or else I might stab him in my sleep. So just live with it."

Before Mina and Cain could even retort, he turned the lights off.

Silence.

Mina stood there, in shock.

"Move over and give her space, Cain." Seth ordered.

"Whatever." Cain replied, and Mina heard a rustling in the bed. She sat down nervously. The priestess didn't know if she could sleep there, because truthfully, she was still a bit scared of Cain. He didn't seem to mind, though. Mina glanced at his shadow; his back was facing her and he was staring at the wall.

Carefully, she lay down. It was good that the smokie sat in-between them, it had served as a barrier.

"Neh, Mina." Called Seth's voice in the dark.

"Eh?" Mina replied in curiosity.

"You really don't need to put on a façade for us. That's my job." Seth replied. "And Cain's, too, if you think about it."

"Eh?" Mina repeated.

"Shut up, Seth." Cain growled. Mina blinked and fidgeted, trying to stare at Cain who still seemed to be staring at the wall. What was so interesting about the wall, really?

What was Seth talking about, though? Mina blinked as tears suddenly formed in her eyes. Why did the tears keep coming back? She was trying so hard to keep them away. She should be happy—she finally found out who her family was.

The King. That was her family. And she wasn't allowed to meet him, or else her life would be in danger.

What would he say when he met her, though? Would he be happy, too, that he met someone that he lost for so long?

What if he wasn't happy at all?

"What the heck…" Mina whispered under her breath as the tears kept coming. She wiped them off with her sleeve. Seth and Cain seemed to be asleep now, and she should be too. The smokie suddenly crept up to her face and licked her cheeks, and she tried to stop giggling since it tickled.

The smokie was licking away her tears; she blinked. Why was it being so nice to her? She wasn't its master.

'_I'm so happy…' _Mina smiled at the smokie and hugged it. She was always thankful for people, or in this case, creatures like the smokie. The tears wouldn't stop coming, though. Maybe this was what happened when you tried to stop them for years—at one point, they'll just come and they won't stop.

The priestess almost jumped out of her skin when Cain whispered to her.

"Sorry." He said, simple and blunt.

Mina glanced at him. "Sorry for what?"

He shrugged.

Mina stared at his back—what was he being sorry for? How come everyone around her seemed to want to confuse her to no end? It was actually starting to frustrate her.

"I'm sorry you have to put on a façade."

Mina blinked back the tears in her eyes, and she hugged the smokie tighter. It didn't seem to complain, but it did wince a bit. Mina was thankful for Cain, though. Their bodies weren't touching, but she could feel his warmth and how much it made her secure.

It made her feel so secure that she unconsciously snuggled her cheek against his chest at the middle of the night. It woke Cain up, and he stared at her strangely. He mumbled his usual "What the hell?" and went right back to sleep.

'_Why does her hair smell so good?' _Cain found himself musing before he went back to sleep.

_**To Be Continued**_


	11. Reunion

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Eleven**_

Events repeated themselves, as Mina, Cain and Seth had to go into hiding again. This time, though, they chose Izlude. It was also much easier since nobody recognized Mina with her new haircut, and Maki and his men seemed to give up looking a month away from the prince's coronation. Seth had to get a small house again for the three of them to live in.

Mina looked like she was enjoying herself, as there were a lot of little kids in the street that they stayed in. All the little kids seemed to like her in return, and she would play with them all day. The priestess didn't even lie about her name, since it wasn't exposed to the public. The only thing exposed was her looks, and that wasn't a problem anymore. Mina and the two assassins still had to lie about other things, though, just to clear some suspicions.

"My wife and I have to go to dinner now." Said a cheerful assassin cross with blonde hair. Mina scratched the back of her head in an embarrassed manner as Seth held her shoulders for effect.

"Aww!" A little girl novice whined. "We were just starting to play…! No fair."

Seth gave a hearty laugh. "I apologize, but my brother is getting angry that we aren't eating dinner yet, and I refuse to start without my lovely wife."

He pointed to Cain who was by their doorstep, looking annoyed at Seth's lies. Mina looked embarrassed as she glanced at Cain's almost expressionless face, except for the hints of aggravation he had.

"Awww!" Repeated the little girl.

"What're you so angry at, Cain? You aren't even hungry." Seth complained to his partner as he and Mina entered the house. Cain glared at Seth in return. Seth continued, "I asked you if you wanted to play Mina's husband, but you just tried to murder me."

Seth's story of how he and Mina fell in love was the one that aggravated Cain the most, though. He used to be a bloodthirsty man whose life changed when he met the woman he wanted to love forever.

"Why does anyone have to be my husband?" Mina asked innocently as she began fixing the plates on the table.

"Because, Mina." Seth replied while looking at her. "It's kind of odd to see a priestess living with two assassin crosses, and it might make some people curious. You never know. We have to play it safe." Then he though, '_Plus, it's extremely fun to tease Cain this way.'_

"Couldn't we just have posed as siblings?" Mina asked in reply.

Cain blinked at her. A priestess who had two assassin crosses as siblings, all living in one house. That was a sight to see.

"Well, the people after you have stopped, anyway, I think. So you'll be able to be honest again soon." Seth said to Mina. Then he added, "I hope."

Mina shrugged. "I changed my hair completely. I suppose they wouldn't find me."

Seth smiled at her. "That's for Maki and his troops, but our guild is much more better in looking for people. They probably knew where we were hours after we came here. For some reason, though, they never did come for us, and it's been weeks."

"Ah." Mina smiled brightly as Seth. "Yeah. I haven't seen Scarlet after what happened."

With a grin, Seth said, "She never did thank me." After some time, Mina and Cain found out that the reason Seth asked to be left behind was because he helped Scarlet escape from Maki. He was able to do it, and they went separate ways. Seth seemed to treat Scarlet with the utmost respect.

"Hey, there you are…" Mina said under her breath as Cain's smokie walked up to her. She hadn't seen it for almost the whole day, and she figured it had been sleeping around as usual. Mina picked the smokie up then looked at Seth and Cain who were starting to eat. She realized that Cain already had a glass, but Seth didn't. She asked, "Do you want a drink, Seth?"

Seth blinked at her. He wondered why Mina wanted to do all the chores in the house. "Sure. Thanks."

Mina smiled at Seth and walked off to the kitchen, smokie in her arms.

Facing Cain, Seth said, "It really is odd why the leader seems to have given up on Mina. He doesn't really give up on jobs, right?"

Cain shrugged. "Maybe he thinks she's not worth it anymore."

"Or maybe he's angrier at you too much to even bother about her."

Seth grinned innocently at Cain who suddenly glared at him.

Cain's partner continued in a low voice so that Mina, who was in the kitchen, couldn't hear them talking. "I'm serious, Cain. I think he's angry with you again. I doubt he's going to let this pass, and I doubt you're going to fight back when he comes for you. You really never did try to fight back every time."

Seth paused when he noticed Cain flinch, knowing pretty well that Cain knew what he was talking about.

"How come you don't fight, anyway?" Seth asked curiously. "I never thought you were the kind of person who would respect a dad like that. I suppose it's because he's a lot stronger, isn't it, and you're still afraid of him until now?"

"Shut up…" Cain muttered under his breath. He seemed to be straining all his frustration into the glass he was clenching, and he was doing this unconsciously. He only seemed to realize it when the glass suddenly shattered under his strong grasp.

"Ack!" Seth exclaimed as he ducked from shards of glass. When the coast was clear, he eyed Cain who was staring at his hand that was bleeding. He didn't seem the least bit pained, and looked even more bothered than surprised.

"C-Cain?" Mina asked softly as she approached him, and the smokie was following her. She placed the glass she was holding on the table and looked at Cain innocently. "What happened?" She looked at Seth for a clue, but Seth was simply smiling at her in a goofy manner.

"Nothing." Cain replied bluntly. Mina reached out to heal him but he shook her hand away and stood up. The priestess looked upset as she watched his retreating form that walked towards the kitchen, and his smokie followed after him. There he was again, letting a smokie get near him, and ignoring a person who would probably make more sense then a furry creature.

"It's alright, Mina." Seth patted her shoulder and started picking up the shards of glass on the floor and table. "It was my fault, don't bother about it."

"Ah." Mina replied. She kneeled down and helped Seth gather the shards. While they were doing so, Mina spoke up. She seemed bothered by what happened, but she wasn't going to ask since she didn't think she had anything to do with it. Instead, she asked if he was really all right.

The assassin cross shrugged at her. "I suppose. You can go after him, if you want. He's just angry at me."

Mina nodded and stood up as soon as she was sure that every little shard was gone. Before she walked away, though, she glanced at Seth and she looked very nervous.

"What?" Seth blinked.

"Do you… uhm…" Mina said softly as she nervously twiddled her fingers. "I don't think this is the right time to ask this, but…"

"Hm?" Seth asked, urging her to say it.

The priestess sighed to herself, and just decided to spit it out. "Do you think it would be okay if I went to see Rai and Maki in Prontera? I mean, they wouldn't tell anyone if I asked them to."

Seth grinned at her. "Ask Cain."

Mina smiled at Seth in reply and nervously walked off towards the kitchen. She timidly opened the door and saw Cain's back and heard the flow of gushing water. Cain glanced at her when he heard her, then he went back to what he was doing. Curiously, Mina approached him and noticed the smokie drinking from the gushing water.

Cain's hand was still bleeding when Mina saw it, and she frowned at him. The assassin cross glared at her and they had a battle as she tried to grab his hand, but he refused to let her heal it for some reason.

"Stop it!" Mina finally said out loud and held unto his wrist as tightly as she could. "Why don't you just let me take care of it, you jerk!"

"It doesn't hurt."

The priestess rolled her eyes. Even from what he had said, he had stopped trying to pry her hand away. The priestess held her hand over his as she started healing it, and a warm light engulfed his palm. Her fingers lightly brushed over his and he felt that familiar tingling feeling. Mina blinked at him as he looked away swiftly. Even the smokie seemed confused at his actions.

"Why do your hands always twitch?" Mina asked him skeptically. As soon as the wounds closed, he swat her hand away and stared outside the window.

Silence.

"Cain?" Mina's voice called out. He stared at her. "I have a favor…"

He looked at her questioningly as she started twiddling with her fingers again.

"May I… uhm…"

"Spit it out." He ordered.

"May I go visit Maki and Rai in Prontera? I promise I'll ask them to keep quiet about me."

Cain ignored her question as he closed the faucet. Mina seemed surprised at his reaction and she went red with embarrassment. She thought he was angry that she would even think of asking him of such a favor, after he went through all that trouble to keep her away from Maki.

"T-thanks anyway," Mina said. "I understand, I can wait a few more weeks. I'm sorry, it's just that I really miss the both of them, so—"

The priestess stopped talking when Cain suddenly laid his now-healed hand flatly on her forehead. He seemed to do it to stop her babbling, though his expression didn't seemed annoyed. It seemed expressionless, as usual. He said, "We'll leave by lunch tomorrow. Alright?"

A bright smile suddenly found it's way to Mina's lips and she looked up at him with a happy look.

………

The morning after, Mina was so excited in seeing her friends that she had left the house to buys gifts for them. She didn't have that much money and she was too embarrassed to ask Cain or Seth so she just got the cheapest things she could find. Small boxes of cookies that a merchant was kind enough to sell to her for a discounted prize. She could have warped some people to gain more money, but she only had a few gemstones left in her pocket, and there didn't seem to be anyone who were selling any more in the town.

She had brought Cain's smokie with her as she went around, and it seemed to want the cookies. Mina sighed as she realized that Cain must have forgotten to feed it again. It really was starting to lose weight, which, according to Cain, was a good thing.

"Hey there." A voice called out. Mina looked up to see a familiar face smiling at her. "It's you again."

"A-ah!" Mina smiled brightly at the High Priest who had greeted her politely. She was wondering why people around them seemed to be whispering and pointing to the man. "You! Uhm… what was your name again?"

The High Priest laughed heartily before he answered her question. "It's Axis. I remember yours though, Mina. Nice haircut, though I preferred the one before."

The priestess's cheeks went red. "You probably the first person to recognize me, I think."

Axis laughed again. Mina observed that he seemed to have a very pleasant personality, or maybe it was because she had been around Cain for such a long time.

"Do you need some help?" Axis asked her as he observed that her hands were full with a smokie trying to eat boxes of cookies. "Uh, why does that smokie seem so hungry?"

Mina laughed sheepishly and glanced down at the smokie. "The owner isn't very responsible… or I think he wants the Smokie to diet."

Axis blinked at her reply, then after a moment, rummaged in his pocket and brought out Pet Food. The smokie eyed it hungrily. "It was for my pet back at home, but I have lots more left. You can have it." Before Mina had the chance to decline, he had already given it to the smokie who had gulped it up. The little creature looked up at the High Priest with begging eyes.

The High Priest smiled at the Smokie and reached into his pockets to give it more. "This thing is pretty trusting. It's acting as if it would follow me home."

Mina looked at the Smokie and laughed as it ate out of Axis's palm. "If it were any other neglected Smokie, it most likely would follow you home. This one follows its master where ever it goes for some strange reason, though."

"Oh, then why's it with you right now?"

The priestess seemed to realize that, and she glanced down at the smokie again. Why _was_ the Smokie all right with going with her, if it refused anyone else aside from Cain? She remembered how it tried to bite Seth every time he tried to pick it up. "You know, I have absolutely no idea."

"Who's the master again? The unpleasant assassin cross?" Axis said with a laugh.

Mina replied with a sheepish smile. The said unpleasant assassin cross was staring at Mina from a distance and gesturing for her to hurry up. The priestess bid the High Priest goodbye and ran over to Cain who was staring intensely at Axis.

"You remember him?" Mina asked Cain as she poked his wrist to gain his attention.

"Yeah. He's the guy from Alberta."

Mina nodded and handed Cain the Smokie and the boxes as she grasped a gemstone from her pocket and threw it in the air. It took a few moments for a warp portal to appear in the ground.

"Why do you have so much boxes?" Cain asked as he handed her back the boxes. He also tried to hand her back the smokie, but it refused to leave him. When he tried to pry it off it jumped on his head, and that's when Cain ignored it. The assassin cross seemed okay with the Smokie being on his head, as long as he wasn't carrying it.

"Gifts." Mina replied bluntly as Cain stepped into the warp portal. As soon as he disappeared, Mina followed after him.

………

In a blink of an eye, Mina found herself in the bustling streets of Prontera. It was always such a busy place, and it seemed like nothing had changed from the last time she had been there. Prontera had always been one of Mina's favorite places, and being there after so many weeks reminded her how much her lifestyle had suddenly changed. Not that she was complaining, though. Cain and Seth had done so much for her.

She pointed towards the direction of where Maki's apartment was, and she hoped that Maki and Rai were both home. It was afternoon on a weekend, though. If her friends were still as lazy as ever, they _would_ be home. Cain, with the smokie on his head, followed Mina as she turned a corner and into the alley that led to the building where Maki lived.

Cain blinked as Mina's face suddenly brightened up as she saw an old man staring up at the two of them. He was, again, drunk. Who would be drunk at that time, anyway? This old man was really strange. From when Mina stayed with her friends before, though, even though that man was sober, he was still a pervert.

The assassin cross eyed Mina as she pushed him forward and hid behind him. He growled at her and at the old man who eyed them suspiciously.

"You look familiar…" The old man said under his breath. Then, suddenly, realization hit him. "You're the nice priestess with the nice piece of ass! Nice new hairstyle… hic…"

Mina laughed sheepishly. He had a pretty good memory even though he was always drunk. He had probably gotten so used to it already. The old man got his beer from the bar, where some people left their bottles half-full at times.

"Uhm… this is for you." Mina said from behind Cain as she leaned a bit to the right and handed the old man a box of cookies. Cain raised his eyebrow at her, not quite understanding why she was giving the drunken man a gift. She really confused him at times.

"My!" Exclaimed the man as he took it from her. "You really are the nicest girl I've… hic… ever met. Come here and let me touch you… hic…"

"Uh… I-I'll pass." Mina replied weakly as she started walking towards the door to the building they were heading. Cain scratched the back of his neck as he followed Mina inside.

"Why'd you get him that?" Cain asked as they were walking up the stairs.

"Because he was really nice to me. He helped me get away from some rowdy guys." Mina replied with a smile. They finally reached the door to Maki's apartment. She stood them for a while and lifted her fist to knock, but she seemed nervous about something and just stood there frozen.

"What?" Cain asked.

"Ah… sorry." Mina replied weakly as she knocked. No reply, but she could hear Rai's voice. She knocked again, and finally she heard footsteps.

The priestess's face brightened as Rai answered the door. "Rai!" Mina exclaimed with a huge smile. Rai seemed to be in shock as she stared at Mina.

"M-Mina?" Rai exclaimed. She suddenly hugged the priestess tightly and sent her a few steps back. The dancer wouldn't let go of Mina as she started talking fast. "Y-you! I'm so happy! And the new haircut! Oh my, Mina, what happened!"

"I—uh…" Mina started, not really knowing where to start. The dancer finally let go of her and noticed Cain. "You! I thought you killed her!"

Cain shrugged.

"Mina, I'm so happy!" Rai exclaimed again, bouncing up and down. She grabbed Mina and Cain's wrist and dragged them inside. Mina smiled sheepishly at Cain who seemed uncomfortable with the dancer's touch. Rai forced them to sit down, but Cain refused and went to stand by the window as he stared outside. The dancer started yelling Maki's name, who was yawning when he came to the room.

"Hey, Maki." Mina smiled at him and gave a wave.

Maki looked really shocked at the priestess who was sitting on his couch. He didn't even hear Rai's screams as she bounced up and down right next to Mina. He slowly walked towards the priestess, who stood up to greet him.

"Y-you're alive!" Maki said.

"Nice to see you too. You're a paladin now, congrat-- Wah!" Mina suddenly exclaimed when Maki embraced her tightly, probably rivaling Rai. She didn't know why she felt uncomfortable—she had hugged him tons of times before.

Maki let go when Rai suddenly hit him in the head. When he asked why she did that, she just looked at him furiously. That was when the Paladin realized that Cain was also there, and staring at him intensely.

"What?" Maki asked the Assassin Cross. Cain ignored him and looked outside the window again.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with getting back to what happened, and Mina was embarrassed as she was the center of attention. Rai wanted to know everything, and so did Maki. Cain seemed to be getting more impatient by the minute, but Mina was relieved that he actually accompanied her all the way there.

"Wait, this is great!" Rai exclaimed. "Then you can take the throne instead of that Axis guy!"

"No, the reason I had my hair changed was so nobody could recognize me. I'd really rather not step up, please…" Mina tilted her head as her two friends stared at her with confusion. Who would want to give up _that_ kind of honor? "Wait, the prince-to-be is named Axis?"

Rai nodded. "Why?"

Mina smiled at her friend and said, "I just met someone named like that. I suppose it's a pretty common name." She blinked as Cain suddenly stared at her in disbelief. He seemed to think it was really strange that Mina hadn't realized that the High Priest from before was the prince, but he didn't say anything.

"I loved you hair before…" Rai sighed. "I wish you didn't have to cut it."

"It's alright." Maki said after Rai said that. "She still looks great."

"Ah…" The priestess said. She then realized something and grabbed two boxes, handing each one out to her friends. "Gifts! I'm sorry I couldn't get anything better at the moment."

Rai and Maki eyed the boxes. Rai asked, "Did you make these?"

Mina shook her head.

"You are _so_ thoughtful!" Rai exclaimed, hugging Mina for the nth time.

"Well, uh…" Mina stood up. "I suppose we'll go back now. Seth's probably waiting for us, and it's getting dark."

Rai's facial expression suddenly went from happy to upset when Mina said that. Mina regretted what she said abruptly, and she sent Rai an apologizing gesture.

"Wait, Mina." Maki said while standing up. "Don't you want to stay here?"

Blinking, Mina looked at the Paladin then at Cain who was staring back at her. She couldn't read Cain's expression, though Maki seemed to be pleading. Mina said, "I'm sorry… it'll be such trouble for you guys…"

"No, it won't." Maki said bluntly. Mina looked surprised.

"Hey, Mina, come here and give these to Seth, will you?" Rai suddenly cut in. She grabbed Mina and led her to the other room, and Mina seemed relieved that she the dancer had saved her from declining Maki.

Maki and Cain were left in the room, and they both seemed uncomfortable as they waited for the two girls to come back.

"You don't want to leave them, do you?" Rai sniggered as she handed a box of brownies to Mina. She wanted her to give it to Seth.

"Ah…"

"Oh, c'mon, I just saved you, you can tell me." Rai whispered with a knowing grin.

"I…" Mina started. Her face was getting red. "I just want to stay with them for now, plus I suppose Cain would get upset if I suddenly left them."

Rai nodded. "Alright. If you give me the address and let me visit, I'll cover up for you!"

"But…" The priestess looked embarrassed as she twiddled her fingers. "I should probably ask Cain if it's alright."

The dancer raised her eyebrow at Mina. "Who is he, your bodyguard!"

"Wah." Mina replied, and she had that sheepish smile of her again.

"Mina, do you like him?" Rai whispered.

"N-no!" The priestess seemed surprised by the question as she held her hands in front of her in defense. There goes Rai again, saying the silliest things, she though.

"He obviously likes you!" Rai retorted. "After all you said he did, he obviously does."

"K-keep your voice down." Mina whispered. "A friend would have done that. It doesn't necessarily mean he's in love with me."

"Mina, after what you said back there, not just any friend would do that if he weren't in love with you."

Mina shook her head. "I'm sure Maki would have done it for me, but he's not in love with me."

Back in the room where the two men were, the both of them flinched when they heard the dancer scream, "You are the most naïve and hopeless person I know!"

As soon as the two girls came back, Rai seemed furious and Mina seemed to be shaking in confusion. Rai huffed as she walked towards Maki who was eyeing her suspiciously. Mina walked towards Cain, and she was still wobbling like a little child who had been yelled at by her mother.

"What?" Cain mumbled. She grabbed his scarf and forced him to lean down. Surprised, he brought his head down to a length where she could whisper into his ear without Maki and Rai hearing. Behind them, though, Maki seemed extremely jealous.

"Is it alright if they come to Izlude to visit? I'm sure Seth would love it, too." Mina whispered.

Cain blinked at her. "I suppose."

Mina let go of his scarf and turned around, and gestured an 'okay' sign at Rai. Rai seemed overjoyed by this and almost bumped into Maki as she jumped up and down. She gave Mina a piece of paper and the priestess wrote down their address on it. Right before Mina and were going to leave, Rai suddenly grabbed Mina and brought her to the other room again.

"What the hell…" Cain mumbled under his breath as the priestess disappeared and he was left alone again with Maki. Their facial expression seemed to say the same sentiments – 'I don't like you'

"You are hopeless, Mina." Rai started in a whisper.

"I know." Mina laughed.

"Okay, here's what you do if you want to find out if he really likes you." The dancer brought her close and started whispering into her ear. "You seduce him!"

"No!" Mina exclaimed in surprise.

"Okay, bad idea." Rai smirked. "Just hug him, okay?"

"How's that going to prove anything?"

Glancing at her, Rai sighed. "It doesn't take a genius to know that jerk doesn't like being touched."

Mina nodded. Cain twitched every time she touched him, and she always took it as annoyance.

"So… if he doesn't push you away, that means he likes you. He just seems to be that kind of guy." Rai explained. "And if he blushes, then that means he's in love with you, though he probably doesn't know it. A friend wouldn't blush if a friend hugged him or her. Simple, right?"

Mina winced. She didn't even know why she was having this conversation.

When they got back to the room where Cain and Maki were waiting, Mina seemed shaken up again.

"What the heck do you tell her, Rai?" Maki asked as Mina pat his shoulder as a good-bye. She really did seem shaken up.

"It doesn't concern you!" Rai replied with a frown. Maki glared at her as Mina waved goodbye to them and brought a gemstone. She opened a portal right there in their living room and waited until Cain got in. Then she followed him inside.

"You know," Maki said to Rai. "Mina's the same as ever, but that guy seems to have changed a lot."

"Well, Mina does that." Rai shrugged. "She changes a lot of people, doesn't she?"

Maki glanced at her as she suddenly pat his back.

"I feel so sorry for you, _loser_."

In the building, people stopped what they were doing as a paladin's voice suddenly screamed Rai's name in frustration.

………

"This is for you, from me." Mina said as she handed Seth a box of cookies. "And this is from Rai." Then she handed over Rai's gift.

Seth seemed startled as Mina handed him the boxes. They were seated on the couch, and it was pretty late already. Seth seemed like he was getting ready to sleep. In this house, there were two rooms with one bed each—Seth and Cain took turns in alternating between the couch and the bed, while Mina got a room all to herself, even when she declined a lot.

"How's Rai?" Seth asked Mina.

"As loud as ever." Cain mumbled as he passed by to get to his room, pet food in hand as the Smokie followed him around.

Mina looked at Seth and ignored Cain's comment. "I think she really misses you. Cain said it was okay to give them this house's address, so expect her anytime soon, alright?"

Seth's face brightened up as he nodded.

"Well, good night!" Mina said as she stood up. She only had one box left in her hands as she ran of to the kitchen to get a drink. When she went back to walk to her room, Seth was already asleep. Glancing down to the box, she realized she hadn't given Cain his box yet. She knocked on his door and without waiting for a reply opened it.

Cain glanced up at her. He was sitting on his bed and watching his Smokie on the floor, which was eating some Pet Food. He did feed it, after all—just not as much as he was supposed to. The assassin cross stared at her as she handed him the box.

"For you!" Mina said cheerfully.

"Ah." Cain replied as she forced it into his hands. She then turned around to head for her room when she suddenly remembered something.

'_Just hug him, okay?' _Rai had told her.

"What?" Cain asked, as Mina seemed to be contemplating something.

"Ah! Sorry!" Mina said, as she was shocked out of her reverie. Staring at him for awhile, she stood in place.

"What're you looking at?"

'_Simple, right?' _Were the last things Rai said.

Mina shook her head and sighed. She just couldn't do it. "Nothing."

Cain shrugged and Mina stopped right before she grasped the doorknob. This was when Cain suddenly seemed to reach his infamous anger point and growled at her, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Cain?"

Glaring at her, he looked up. "What?"

"I…" Her face was beginning to get red. Cain eyed her suspiciously. "I…"

Silence.

"What the hell?" Cain repeated.

Mina gulped a knot in her throat nervously and walked back to him, taking a seat right beside him. She couldn't understand why she was so nervous, since she never felt this way towards others. Of course she was a pretty timid person, but she never had trouble showing affection, especially to a friend.

Cain stared at her as she lightly put her arms around him, and his whole body stiffened. They sat there quietly, and even the Smokie looked up at them. It had an expression that seemed to say, 'Am I dreaming?'

"Thanks for everything." Mina said softly, and her hold on him got tighter.

"A-ah." Cain mumbled, not really knowing what to say as Mina buried her face into his warm chest. She couldn't understand why she felt so secure every time she was around Cain. There was something about him that just made her feel that way. She let go of him slowly, as if she didn't even want to.

Mina stood up, and her face was bright red. Hesitatingly, she glanced down at Cain who was staring at the smokie with an expressionless face.

"Good night." Mina said before she rushed out the door. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Cain buried his face in his hands. His face felt so warm, and there was a knot clenching up in his stomach. He felt the smokie jump up on the space beside him and prod his arm with its furry paws.

"What the hell…" Cain cursed under his breath as he buried his face further into his hands. The smokie seemed to wonder why his master was so red. Was he sick?

………

'_Rai was wrong…_' Mina thought as she hugged her pillow. She didn't know why she was so upset. When she looked at Cain, he had that usual expressionless face of his. He didn't even at the least have a tinge of light red on his cheeks. Though she was oblivious to the fact that Cain had only blushed as soon as she left._'He only thinks I'm a friend or so… I knew it. He didn't blush, he didn't think it was anything special.'_

She hugged her pillow tighter.

'_Why am I so upset…?'_

_**To Be Continued**_

_**A/N:** _AAAAAAAAAAAH. FLUFF MUSH OVERLOAAAAADZ.

…

My brother has been playing that song from Panday all day. Now it's stuck in my head. –bangs head-

…

_IPAGLALABAN KO, ANG AKING PAG-IBIG_. XD

NOOOOOO.


	12. A Date

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

"Will you go out on a date with me?"

The question had shocked everyone in the perimeter, but it had shocked Mina the most. It had shocked her after a couple of moments of silence that she needed for it to actually register in her mind, and she wouldn't have even realized what was going on if Seth hadn't suddenly butted in to stare at the High Priest who came. Axis Coltin had knocked on their door and asked for the young priestess named Mina, and asked her bluntly if she wanted to go on a date.

"Huh?" Mina replied with great confusion. It was already late afternoon, and she was already tired, but this seemed to wake her up.

"Who are you!" Seth bellowed, pushing Mina aside to get a better view on the man who was standing on their doorstep. "Hey, aren't you—"

"Ah," Axis cut in, referring to Mina. "Is it a yes or a no?"

"A date?" Mina blinked. It wasn't actually the first time she had been asked out, but she just couldn't refuse him just like that. She slowly glanced at Cain who was lying down on a couch and staring at the ceiling, and a smokie was napping on his chest. Mina called out to Cain, "Is it alright if I go out for awhile?"

Silence. Cain replied, "I don't care."

Anger suddenly gathered in Mina's face as she glared at Cain furiously. It looked like she was about to retort, but instead, she stomped out of the door and banged the door behind her. Cain. Was. _SUCH._ A. _JERK._

"Ah, ah, ah…" Seth said as the door banged right in his face, and he stepped back a bit for effect. He looked over at Cain who looked aggravated at Mina's reaction. Without hesitating, Seth said, "Dear Cain, you're a dumb hypocrite."

"What the hell…" Cain muttered under his breath, his glare directed at Seth. He seemed to be in the mood to murder his partner.

"I'm wondering, though." Seth started pacing around the room. "Isn't that extremely weird? A date? They're both from the royal family, so that means they're more likely to be cousins… oh, wait."

Cain rolled his eyes. "Just because they both have royal heritage doesn't mean they're related."

"And it doesn't bother you that Mina's on a date with someone who might likely be her future husband?"

"Go to hell."

…………

"He's such a jerk!" Mina screamed at the top of her lungs, stomping on the pavement under her. Axis scratched the back of his head, probably wondering if this was his fault. Mina was so upset that she didn't even ask Axis how he found out where she lived.

"It's alright," Axis said softly. "If you want, it's not a romantic date, so tell your friend he doesn't need to be jealous."

The priestess looked sharply at Axis, most likely unconsciously. "Why would he be jealous? It's not like there's anything going on between us."

'_Yeah, he didn't blush when Rai said he should.' _Mina added in her mind.

Axis nodded in a 'If you say so' kind of way and smiled at Mina, who in return found herself calming down. There was something about Axis that just did that—he was so calm and patient that even the most upset people would find themselves forced to be mellow.

"You did say Comodo was your favorite place, did you not?" Axis asked her as he brought a gemstone out of his pocket.

"Yeah?" Mina replied as she watched him throw the gem in the air and emit a portal from the ground. He smiled at her and urged her to go in. The priestess looked at him questioningly and then stepped into the portal.

When her vision came to, she realized that the temperature had suddenly become warmer and she was stepping into something that gently made her feet sink a bit. It was pink sand, and there was music in the background! Comodo was actually much more mellow during the day, but it was still the place she loved.

Axis stepped out from his portal and stood beside her as she stared at the sea. She looked so amazed—she didn't lie when she said she loved that place. Mina was such a predictable person that pleasing her could prove very useful, plus the added fact that she seemed happy with just about anything you showed her. Axis nodded to himself, it was no wonder that people found themselves falling with such a pleasant priestess.

"Is this really alright?" Mina asked Axis, who smiled at her. She didn't think that they'd actually go there. It had been months since she had last been there, and it was the time Cain and Seth took her away from Maki and Rai.

"Of course!" Axis replied enthusiastically as he plopped down on the ground. "But I hope you don't mind that we'll only be here for awhile, since I have to get back to things right away. I just needed to talk to you about something."

Mina tilted her head a bit, inquiring about what he meant. She sat down beside him and squirmed uncomfortably at the gaze that he directed towards her. His eyes were very soft but the kind of gaze he gave away could melt just about any girl; but Mina was different, she felt uncomfortable rather than flattered.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm going to cut to the chase…" Axis said in a low voice. Mina looked up at him, waiting for what he was going to say next. The High Priest sighed to himself, seeming to pace his dialogue. Finally, after awhile, he said, "I know you're the princess, Mina."

Mina's eyes widened. "W-what?"

Chuckling to himself, Axis flicked her forehead playfully. "What, you didn't think a person like me would find out?"

"A person like you? What do you mean?"

The High Priest seemed to be at disbelief in her reply. "Don't you know who I am…?"

Mina's stare bore into his eyes, as she seemed to contemplate on it for a while. Finally, the extremely naïve girl seemed to realize it as her eyes and mouth widened and she pointed an accusing finger at the high priest. "Ah! I though you just had the same name as the would-be prince, but-but—"

The High Priest flicked her forehead again. "Yes, princess, I'm Axis Coltin, prince in a few weeks."

Silence. Mina had an unexplainable face as she stared at him.

"So… why'd you bring me here…?" Mina asked softly. He couldn't be after her life too, could he?

With a sigh, Axis looked out at the see. His hand was busily playing with a shell, and it seemed like he was nervous with what he was doing. "It's my uncle who wants me to be future prince and then king… I've actually never even met King Tristan, your father, and I suppose you've never met him either. He's supposed to be in his room, extremely ill, and they say he'll leave this world soon."

Mina nodded, and a painful _pang_ met her chest. It seemed like a thousand knots suddenly emitted in her heart. She actually wanted to meet her father, though she never told anybody about that.

"And, well…" Axis continued. "I feel like I'm robbing you of something extremely huge. You should be able to step up to the throne."

Mina continued staring at him until she realized he was done saying what he had to. The priestess opened her mouth to explain, "I don't really want to step up. It's not because they convinced me not to, but I really don't want to be a princess. You shouldn't feel guilty, really."

The High Priest returned the smile she gave him, and he spoke up again, "Are you sure about that? I suppose being a prince or princess isn't exactly the most exciting thing to do. I'd actually love to have a much more normal life."

"So why are you doing this?"

"My uncle wants me to." Axis replied. Suddenly, he pulled Mina close and started whispering to her ear, causing Mina to blush profusely. "He's not a very good man, so I suppose what I'll try to do is minimize the hell he'll try to break lose." Then he let go of Mina, as if what he had just said was such a huge secret.

Laughing nervously, Mina looked up at him. "You seem like a very good man, Axis."

Axis smiled.

Silence.

"Hey, Mina."

Mina looked up from the ground and stared at him, and he was grinning widely at her, his cheeks scarlet. "Yes?" The priestess inquired.

"You're a great person." Axis told her. "I promise I'll try to do a great job just for you."

Mina seemed embarrassed by his statement. "No! You're supposed to do it for the citizens, Axis!"

Axis laughed and stood up, and he held Mina's hand to help her up. He seemed surprised by her weight as he said, "Mina, you're too light."

"Ah." Mina said sheepishly. "Everyone keeps saying that…"

The High Priest laughed. To Mina's surprise, he suddenly brought up two fingers and pointed it at her. The priestess stared at his hand with confusion and listened to what he said, "I've decided to make two promises to you. One is, I'm going to bring you to Juno someday to meet the Valkyries."

"A-ah?"

"Two is…" Axis ignored her immediate reaction. "I'm going to make sure you meet King Tristan."

Mina gasped, and she shook her head quickly, but Axis ignored her again.

"Sorry I have to go back to the castle now. This is for you, it's to Izlude." Axis told her as he took another gem from his pocket and caused a portal to appear on the floor. "It's going to be a pity, once people find out my identity, I won't be able to go around this much…"

The priestess smiled at him and thanked him, and approached the portal to go back to the town. She was surprised when Axis suddenly held her by the shoulder, and she turned around to face him.

"Third promise…" Axis announced.

Mina blinked. There was a third promise?

"I'm going to try all I can to make you fall in love with me."

Before Mina could react, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and gently pushed her towards the portal. She almost slipped if she hadn't regained her composure quickly, and she found herself right in front of their house. The priestess seemed shocked at what Axis had said as she stared at the ground, her cheeks blushing scarlet.

"Mina?" A familiar voice called out. Mina turned around to find Rai standing there, Maki beside her. Rai had a smirk on her face as she stared at Mina. "Why are you blushing? What happened?"

"It's… hot." Mina replied weakly, trying her best to lie. "That's why my face is warm."

Maki raised his eyebrow. It was early evening, and that temperature in Izlude was nowhere near warm. Rai shoved Maki away and pulled Mina in a tight hug, in the same time whispering, "Did you try what I told you with Cain?"

Mina seemed downcast and stared behind Rai to where Maki was standing. Maki seemed annoyed at something, probably at the fact that Rai shoved him apart. Mina whispered back to Rai, "He doesn't like me."

"_WHAAAAAAT?" _The dancer's voice echoed throughout the whole street, and Maki had to clamp his hand over her mouth to shut her up. She seemed so surprised at what Mina had said, but Mina didn't react—she just stood there, staring at the ground. A few moments after Rai had screamed, Seth came rushing to the door and was shocked to see Rai there. He blinked, and Rai blinked back at him.

"Hey, Rai!" Seth said loudly with a huge grin plastered on his face. Rai's face brightened up. Mina and Maki watched as the dancer suddenly ran up to Seth and hugged him, surprising Seth who stepped away a few inches in surprise as the dancer wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Seth! Seth!" Rai chanted with great enthusiasm. Seth grinned at her and beckoned Maki and Mina to come in.

"Mina?" Maki asked the priestess before she entered the house. Mina blinked and turned around to glance at him in question. "Are you alright?"

The priestess blinked. "Of course!" She said enthusiastically. "C'mon, I think they're about to eat dinner!" Mina grabbed Maki's wrist and dragged him inside, but was surprised when her face suddenly hit a chest that didn't budge. She let go of Maki and slowly looked up to see Cain staring down at her irritably.

"Cain." Maki said bluntly. That was probably his way of greeting. Cain ignored him as he stride to get out of the house quickly. Mina blinked and watched Cain's retreating figure, and the smokie that followed after. Maki approached Mina and asked, "Did you two have a fight?"

"No." Mina said quickly. "He's just a natural jerk."

Maki nodded as Mina led their way to the dining table, where dinner was already there. They all sat down to eat, and the only one missing was Cain. Mina didn't seem to be herself, and even Seth had noticed this. Maki and Rai were both surprised when Seth suddenly asked, "How was your date with Axis?"

"Axis? Axis Coltin, prince?" Rai exclaimed.

"Date! Mina had a date?" Maki exclaimed.

"Shut up, Maki!" Rai retorted, kicking the paladin under the table. "That's not what's important."

Mina smiled sheepishly at her two friends and said, "He just wanted to ask me a few things about. It's not like it was a romantic date."

_Liar._

"LIAR!" Rai accused her. "When we got home, you were acting like somebody had professed their love to you!"

Right at that moment, a smokie stride up to the table with Cain followed it. Mina looked up at Cain who was staring at her, and she reached to her pockets to hand him a bag of pet food that she told him she'd get. Cain took it from her quickly.

"Mina!" Rai called out; Maki stared at the dancer, annoyed at her shouting and at what she was shouting. "Don't lie to me, that guy _did _confess to you! You were blushing and staring at the ground, we're not stupid…!"

"Rai, quit it." Maki said, trying to calm his friend down. Rai huffed impatiently and only sat back down when Seth held her arm to calm her down.

"He… didn't…" Mina said softly, twiddling her fingers uncomfortably. "He didn't confess." Which was true. He really didn't—he just said that he'd do everything he could to get Mina to fall in love with him. That wasn't exactly a confession, right?

"Twisting the truth. Hmph." Rai said under her breath. Mina stared at the dancer in disbelief—did she have some sort of psychic power or something? Or worse—Rai knew Mina too well at this point of their friendship.

"Room assignments!" Seth suddenly cut in. "Everyone's sleeping over, alright?"

Maki looked up from his plate. "I was going to go back, actually."

"Don't be a spoilsport, father." Rai said sarcastically. "I want to stay and you're not leaving me here."

Smiling sheepishly, Mina noticed the look of annoyance at Cain's face. The assassin cross still seemed to be a bit bothered by the way Rai got across as a brat, but that was just the kind of person Rai was. She was still a good person, after all.

"The girls can stay in Mina's room." Seth said. Then he stood up and grabbed Maki and Cain. "Rock, paper, scissors to see who stays in the other room, the couch, and on the alley!"

"Don't be stupid." Cain swatted Seth's hand away and glared at him. "I'm staying in the room tonight."

Silence.

"Rock, paper, scissors, Maki!" Seth said with a grin. He could be so hyper at times, and he was probably the male version of Rai. "To see who stays on the cou—"

"I can stay on the floor." Maki cut in.

"Don't be ridiculous." Rai said. "You can't sleep on anything hard, you baby."

The Paladin ignored Rai's comment, but in the end, it was decided that Seth stay on the floor and Maki could have the couch. Cain made up a good point that this was all Seth's fault in the first place, so he should be the one to suffer the most. Seth didn't seem to have a problem with that—as long as he was with Rai.

The house was pretty small, but they all seemed to be comfortable with it, even though Rai kept screaming. After a while, Seth and Rai had disappeared and nobody even wanted to wonder what the two were doing. After all, it had been months since they last saw each other and they probably had some 'catching up' to do.

Cain had also disappeared after awhile, probably to his room. Maki and Mina chat in the living room, a smokie on Mina's lap. Maki seemed to muse on the smokie, and the all-familiar question came: "Why was it so fond of Cain in the first place?"

"Maybe it sees something in him." Mina giggled as she pet the smokie on the head. "He's a pretty nice guy once you get to know him."

Maki stared at her sheepishly. He didn't have any intentions on getting to know Cain better. Since the first time they had met, he had already hated Cain's guts.

"Damn, I missed you, Mina." Maki said with a laugh as he stretched his back.

The priestess smiled at him and took the smokie in her arms. "I missed you and Rai, too!"

The paladin blinked. _'That's… not… what I meant…'_

"I'm heading to bed," Mina told Maki. "I hope you feel comfortable here on the couch." Maki nodded as she walked away and headed for the hallway, which was out of view from the couch. As soon as she reached for her door, she remembered she still had the smokie. It was just about time since Cain came out of her room, and the smokie ran over to him.

"Night, Cain." Mina smiled at him. He shrugged.

Silence.

"Are you angry at me?" The priestess asked innocently.

"Why the hell would I be angry at you?"

Shrugging, the priestess looked at him. "You're correct, I suppose." Then she added in her mind, '_Except you're always angry anyway.'_

Mina opened the door and walked inside. Cain blinked as he heard a soft yelp from the priestess as she crept right outside the room and slowly closed the door behind her. Her face was extremely red as she avoided Cain's stare.

"What?" Cain asked.

Mina shook her head, still avoiding Cain's eyes. She seemed so uncomfortable. Cain rolled his eyes as he pushed Mina aside and opened the door, peering inside the dark room. After a while, he closed it and had the same expression Mina had—embarrassment. They didn't see anything in action, but they did see two certain naked people asleep and covered by a blanket.

"Mindless idiot…" Cain muttered under his breath.

The priestess chuckled. "Maybe that's why it didn't matter to him where he'd end up sleeping." She joked. Cain stared at her as she started walking away.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

Mina shrugged. "On the floor by the couch, I suppose."

Silence.

The priestess's eyes widened as Cain kicked his door open furiously and mumbled, "Get in."

"But—"

"Get in."

There was something in Cain's voice that just made Mina follow him. He always had that air of dominance that made people intimidated, and even though Mina thought she got past that already, it seemed that Cain still had authority over her. She timidly went past him and inside his room, too afraid to go against him.

Why couldn't she sleep on the floor, anyway? What was so wrong with being near Maki? It seemed to annoy Cain to no end every time she was with the said Paladin.

The priestess felt nothing but being uncomfortable, as they lay on the bed, back to back. It was just like back in the ship, except this time, the smokie didn't serve as a barrier. It stayed on the floor and slept there.

Just when Mina was drifting off to sleep, Cain's voice woke her up.

"Did that Axis confess to you?"

Caught off-guard, Mina didn't know what to say. She fidgeted and buried her face in her hands, feeling her cheeks heat up again.

"If you lie to me, I swear I'll kill you." Cain added.

"He…" Mina said softly. "He didn't confess. He just said he'd try to make me fall for him."

"That's the same thing, idiot."

Silence.

"Why does it make you so upset?" Mina whispered as she clutched the bed sheet. This was so unlike of her—she wanted to be bubbly like usual, but she couldn't lie in front of Cain. Even though he said he didn't like her facades, she felt extremely guilty every time she showed him she was upset.

"Shut up."

Mina's eyes furrowed in anger and she wanted to get out of that room. He was such a jerk. "You confuse me so much." She hissed in a whisper. "Creep. Idiot." The priestess suddenly tried to sit up straight and walk out when a rough hand suddenly pushed her back down.

"Idiot…" Cain mumbled as he pinned her down under him, using his two elbows as leverages that were on either side of her head. She tried to get up, but he was really much stronger. Her cheeks went scarlet when she could feel his warm breathing on her lips; he was just a couple of millimeters away.

"What is it, C-Cain?" She asked, trying to sound as brave as she could, and failing miserably. Even in the dark, she knew that he was glaring down at her.

"You're mine." He mumbled. Mina seemed extremely surprised at this, and stopped struggling to get him off. She didn't know what to say, she thought that he didn't like her. "And if you do as much as piss me off, then I swear, get out of my sight before I kill you."

The priestess lay there as Cain took his weight off her and went back to his side, staring back at the wall again. Mina still didn't know what to say. Cain was full of surprises.

"I thought that I annoyed you." Mina said softly. Was it true, what he said? She was Cain's?

"No. Your dancer friend annoys me."

In the dark, Mina smiled sheepishly to herself. Of course, so many people found Rai annoying.

Before the assassin cross drifted off to sleep, a frail hand found its way to the front of his chest. He blinked as she nudged him to face her, and when he did, she nuzzled his neck softly. Mina took in his familiar scent—sandalwood.

"Good night." She mumbled against the arch of his neck. Mina felt him shiver for some reason, and she didn't know it was because her breath tickled him. He didn't give back her Good Night, but at the moment, she really didn't mind.

…………

The next morning, Maki, Rai and Seth were the first to wake up. Maki eyed Rai who was walking around with just a shirt that Seth was wearing the previous day.

"Odin, the least you can do is be less vulgar." Maki grumbled under his breath as he drank from his cup of coffee.

"What are you talking about?" Rai raised her eyebrow. "I don't see anything wrong with sleeping with somebody."

Seth and Rai watched at Maki's reaction—suddenly spitting out the coffee in surprise. Rai snapped at the mess he made, but he simply looked up at Seth and Rai in disbelief. Rai was _so_ vulgar.

"She doesn't see anything wrong, but I'm her first." Seth whispered to Maki.

"Wha—HEY! Quit it, I don't want to hear this." Maki yelled. Cain came into the room and ignored their greetings of good mornings.

"There's nothing wrong with sleeping with somebody, so I don't see the need to be subtle." Rai hissed at Maki.

"I strongly disagree." Maki replied.

Rai rolled her eyes then looked at Cain who was seated down and pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Cain, do you think there's anything wrong with sleeping with somebody?"

Seth blinked as Cain gave Rai a 'What the hell' expression and drank from his cup. After a while, Mina came to the room and took a seat beside Cain after greeting everybody good morning.

"Wait…" Rai seemed to realize something. She grabbed Seth and started whispering, "Where did Mina sleep?"

Seth's eyes widened. He realized what Rai meant. Rai got this smirk on her face as she decided that it was time to tease certain people in the room, since she knew just how innocent Mina could get.

"Mina, do you think there's anything wrong with sleeping with somebody?" Rai asked out loud.

"Don't ruin her innocence, Rai." Maki said out loud.

Mina shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"

'_Perfect.' _Rai continued asking Mina questions, "Have you ever slept with a guy Mina?"

"Huh?" Mina tilted her head in confusion. "I just slept with Cain last night."

Silence. The only things heard was Maki suddenly jumping up from his seat and Rai suddenly bursting out laughing. Mina looked around, all confused. Maki was glaring at Cain and Rai was still laughing. She glanced at Seth who was also laughing and nudging Cain suggestively. Why?

Then she glanced at Cain who was ignoring Seth and drinking coffee intently, and his cheeks were bright red from Mina's reply to Rai.

"I told you!" Rai suddenly yelled, still bursting with laughter. "He's blushing, Mina! I tooold you!"

Seth continued nudging Cain suggestively, who was know getting more aggravated. He had an expression that seemed to suggest he wanted to kill his partner.

"I'm confused." Mina blinked. "What's such a big deal that I slept with Cain last night?"

"What the hell…" Cain muttered under his breath.

"Mina, Rai meant fornication." Seth grinned at her.

"What's fornication?" Mina asked. She glanced around, and saw Cain bury his face in his hands in exasperation. Annoyed, Mina looked up at Maki. "Maki, what's fornication?"

Maki seemed to hesitate, then he finally spoke up, "It's another word for sex."

Silence.

Everyone in their street seemed to wake up when the priestess whom they thought was so quiet suddenly screamed loudly from embarrassment. It was accompanied by the loud laughs of a certain dancer and a guy named Seth, and also a paladin who was trying to calm Mina down. The only one who wasn't making any noise in that house was an assassin cross named Cain.

_**To Be Continued**_


	13. Fathers

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

"This is Rai, Maki, and this is Seth." Mina said brightly as she pointed them out respectively. Then she pointed at Cain who was beside her and looking sternly at Axis as Mina spoke. "And this is Cain, whom I think you've met."

Axis nodded with a smile as he greeted Cain's glare with a soft expression. "Yes. I remember him. I also know Maki, actually. We see each other often in the castle."

Mina nodded in reply. They were in Juno, and Axis was finally a prince after a long coronation. The prince had invited Mina and her friends to come to Juno to watch, and though Mina didn't really want to, once Rai heard she insisted on going. Axis had been visiting Mina often after he confessed that he liked her, much to Maki's, and unknown by them, Cain's dismay.

Though Maki had told Rai that he liked Axis a lot more than he liked Cain, he still acted very threatened by the gallant High Priest. He didn't make it a secret that he liked Mina, and Mina knew this—not because she was becoming less naïve, but because he said it himself. Now that he was prince, he said that he'd be busier, but he'd still make it a point to come see Mina often.

Juno was a huge and intricate city, with people bustling around. The buildings were huge and there seemed to be a story behind just about anything there. There was going to be a festival that night to celebrate Axis's coronation, and everyone was looking forward to it.

Axis blinked as Rai suddenly circled him; there was a suspicious look on Rai's face as she did. "You… you're very tall, you look great, you probably have a lot of money since you're a prince now…"

Mina watched in surprise as Rai suddenly slapped Axis's back and yelled, "PERFECT! I say you may pass to court Mina!"

"R-Rai… idiot…" Maki mumbled under his breath in dismay as he tried to hold back his dancer friend. Seth laughed loudly—the assassin cross seemed to enjoy every bit of Rai, even down to her vulgar personality. She was so straight-to-the-point, and though most people hated it, Seth thought it was fun.

"That's not…" Mina tried to squeak as Axis laughed sheepishly at Rai's statement. He seemed as embarrassed as she was. Mina gingerly glanced at Cain who was obviously annoyed at Rai's statement, but wasn't saying anything.

"Mina." Axis smiled at the priestess who looked up at him in question. "Get ready. I'm brining you to the Valkyries."

"Ah, I can go there myse—"

"I'm going, too!" Rai suddenly screamed. She looked up at Axis with a huge smile. "That's alright, right!"

Axis nodded. "Yes."

Nobody even tried to tell the dancer that Axis probably wanted some alone time with Mina, yet Mina didn't seem bothered by it at all. She wanted to be with Rai when they got to be promoted to third class, and she was quite sure that Rai was ready to become a gypsy.

…………

"That guy really likes Mina, doesn't he?" Maki mused out loud as he leaned against a tree. Cain was on one of the branches and seemed to be wrestling his smokie as it tried to nap on his chest yet again. Seth was sitting on a bench nearby and assumed that Maki was directing the question towards him.

"I suppose." Seth grinned at Maki, who looked disappointed in his answer. The two girls had set of with Axis, and none of the guys felt like inviting themselves because they couldn't do what Rai did. It was starting to get dark, and preparations for the festival were taking place.

"Do you think… Mina likes him, too?" Maki muttered. He honestly had no idea.

"She probably doesn't have an idea if she does." Seth shrugged. "I remember Rai telling me once that a lot of guys fall for Mina, but she doesn't really notice or do anything about it. Much like your situation, right?"

Maki flinched. Seth was very correct.

"How about you, Cain?" Seth called out to his partner. Cain looked down at him in question. "What did Mina say when you let her know that you liked her?"

Cain glared down at Seth sharply. "I never did that." He lied.

Of course, he wouldn't admit it to anyone. He had told Mina that she was his, and she didn't really say anything to him about it. She didn't complain, but reading her thoughts about the matter was pretty difficult since she never really changed her reaction too much—she was always naïve and innocent. The priestess did start getting less intimidated by him, and he stopped pushing her away… most of the time.

"Do you like Mina, Cain?" Maki asked he stared up at the assassin cross.

Cain glared at him but didn't say anything. He seemed to have an expression that said he wanted to stab Maki in the heart. Maki, of course, already knew the answer. It was pretty obvious about what Cain felt, though he hid it to himself.

Maki was in denial.

"Ah…" Seth suddenly said out loud as he stared off at a direction. Maki and Cain glanced at where he was looking at, and an assassin cross walked up to them in quick strides. "Scarlet."

"Hey." Scarlet greeted them as she leaned her fist gingerly on the trunk of tree Cain was sitting on.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked. Maki looked at her, and she looked back at Maki with the same expression. The two of them recognized each other.

Back in Alberta, when Maki broke down the door to Seth, Mina and Cain's house, he found that same wounded lady assassin cross. He only caught a glimpse of her until she disappeared into the shadows and escaped. Still, he was an expert in remembering faces, and he knew hers. Apparently, she knew his, also.

"I'm here for the festival, of course." Scarlet replied bluntly. Then she looked up at Cain. "And our Guild Master is here for another reason."

Maki looked at Cain suspiciously as the assassin cross's grip on a branch tightened. He seemed very affected by what the assassin cross had said, and if Maki didn't know better, he could have sworn that Cain's fist was trembling. With anger, frustration, fright, he couldn't tell.

"Be on the look out, Cain." The lady assassin cross said with a smirk that was accompanied with what seemed to be sympathy that she couldn't hide. Cain shot her a glare before he turned his back on them.

"What's going on?" Maki suddenly asked. Seth and Scarlet looked at the Paladin with hesitation, until Seth finally spoke up when Cain didn't seem to mind.

"Cain's father is the guild leader." Seth explained in a low voice. "He's kind of… violent every time Cain doesn't follow his orders, and now that Cain actually left the guild, he might be more upset."

Maki looked up at Cain who still had his back to them. The Paladin said indignantly, "Well, can't you fight back? Besides, you're on his side, aren't you, Seth?"

"It's not that easy." Seth said. He seemed affected by it, too. "He's… strong; really strong. And he does things which can't be taken for granted."

"Like?" Maki asked. Cain flinched when he heard Maki's question.

"He killed his own wife when Cain refused to become an assassin cross." Seth said bluntly.

Maki's eyes widened with obvious shock, and even Scarlet looked surprised, but not with what Seth said but when Cain suddenly threw a dagger at his partner. Seth caught it between his fingers and looked up at Cain who was staring at him angrily.

"Wait, wait…" Maki mumbled as he buried his face to his hand in frustration. The paladin seemed to realize something. "That means…"

"That girl's in trouble?" Scarlet finished for Maki, as she watched as Cain jumped down on the ground. "Is that it?"

Cain flinched as Maki suddenly unsheathed his sword and pointed it at him furiously. Maki's face had an expression that showed he was clearly angry. The paladin growled, "What the hell did you get Mina into?"

"Shut up." Cain said as he stared at Maki.

"Calm down, Maki." Seth said as he looked at the Paladin. Maki, hesitating, put his sword back but still continued glaring at Cain. Seth continued, "The Guild Leader won't care about Mina at this point. He'll probably try to kill Cain, but if he tries to retaliate and fails… well, that's when Mina's in danger, then."

Scarlet shot up a look. "Do you mean that Cain should just stand there and take the beating?"

"Absolute crap." Cain muttered under his breath.

"I don't care about you." Maki said to Cain sharply. "But if Mina gets even just a scratch on herself, I swear you'd better run for your life."

Cain smirked and looked at Maki. "You think I'm scared of you?" He said with dry sarcasm.

"Quit it." Seth ordered, as he stepped between the two people who had suddenly decided to get into a glaring diversion. "This isn't the time."

There was a silence, and the only think you could hear was a few rustling of leaves and some people shifting their weights uncomfortably.

"I don't have time for this." Cain grumbled as he walked away, while his Smokie tried it's best to keep up with it's master.

Seth, Maki and Scarlet watched a Cain walked away. When he was gone, Seth turned to Maki.

"I can at least assure you that he won't let anything happen to Mina." Seth said. "He may seem like a cold-hearted person, but he really does everything he can to protect someone he likes."

Scarlet shifted in her weight as she stared at the ground. "I know what you're trying to say, Seth… the only reason he stayed in the guild for so long was because he wanted to protect his sister, right?"

Seth nodded. "That man… I mean, Cain's dad. I wonder how somebody could be cold-hearted enough to kill his own wife, and threaten to kill his own daughter…"

…………

"It's great, isn't it!" Rai said brightly as she twirled around in her new outfit. Seth laughed and admired his girl's new presentation. The young girl was now a gypsy, and she was nothing but pleased at herself. Beside her, Maki congratulated Mina as she now had the uniform of a High Priestess. Finally.

"Where's Cain?" Mina asked Seth and Maki.

"I think I saw him over there." Seth said, as he pointed towards a direction of booths. The festival was already taking place, and there were stalls of all kinds. Mina nodded and set off to find Cain. Maki seemed to want to stop her, but Seth shot him a look to try to convince him not to, which worked.

Mina went around the streets in a happy stride as she tried looking for the certain assassin cross. She wasn't one to brag, but she was quite happy that she had finally become a High Priestess, and she wanted to show Cain this. She finally spotted him looking at a stall with a stare she couldn't decipher.

"Cain!" Mina called as she ran up to him. He blinked and faced her, looking up and down at her new uniform. "I did it!"

"Ah." He replied simply. Mina smiled at him—she really didn't expect congratulations from him, it was still Cain, of course. The High Priestess looked down at the counter he was staring at to find a couple of masks, aligned. She looked up to him questioningly, and he replied, a bit embarrassed, "…Cheska wanted me to get her a souvenir the next time I went here."

The High Priestess smiled brightly at him and looked down at the arrangements of masks. There were all sorts of stuff, and she was happy that Cain was actually thinking of buying something for his sister. "Well, what sort of mask does she like?" Mina asked him.

Cain shifted his weight uncomfortably as he looked at the ground. Mina could have sworn he was trying to hide a blush, though she really couldn't tell why. He said in a mutter, "She likes fox masks."

"Here!" Mina said quickly as she grabbed one from the counter. As soon as she did, the merchant in the stall yelled the price, which was actually very expensive. Mina smiled sheepishly and gestured to put back the mask, when Cain spoke up again.

"It's fine." He muttered. "I'll take it."

The merchant seemed pleased with herself as Cain gave her the money, and Mina carried the mask in her hands as she examined it. The two of them walked around quietly for a while, and Mina asked where his smokie was. He said he had left it back at the inn, and Mina couldn't tell by his reply that he had forcibly locked it inside his room. Mina suddenly stopped walking in a quiet street, a good distance from the stalls.

"Cain, are you alright?" Mina asked softly. He blinked at her. "You look troubled."

He shrugged and had a frown on his face. Oh yeah, she forgot that he hated being asked questions like that.

"It's a really cute mask!" Mina said with a grin as she held up the mask. Suddenly, an invisible force came striking at her hand. It seemed like a katar hit her under the palm in a striking motion. Mina and Cain's eyes widened as the mask went flying into the air, and hit the road with a loud clatter.

"Ah…" Cain said, trying to reach out to Mina who was clutching her hand. He hesitated and brought his hand back to his side. There was a long slash across her palm which started bleeding nonstop.

"What…?" Mina said in panic as she examined her palm. "What was that…?" She glanced down at the mask on the floor that remained unharmed.

"Heal yourself." Cain ordered sternly. With a nod, she aided her hand. While she was doing so, she looked up at Cain who had suddenly buried his face in one of his hands and was leaning against a tree. It was the exact same expression he had when she first met him back in Geffen.

"Cain?" Mina asked softly as she bent down to pick up the mask. She slowly approached him and brought up a hand and placed it on his shoulder affectionately. "Are you alright?"

"Shut up." He muttered as he shook her hand away. Mina blinked and took her hand off for a while, and stared at him. He was trembling again, for some reason, and his other hand was clutching the trunk of the tree behind him.

"Cain, tell me what's wrong." Mina said softly. She had an expression that showed she was clearly hurt by his reactions. Gingerly, she brought up a hand and gently stroked his hair with it, feeling as though that was the least contact she was allowed to have with him. He peered at her queerly through his fingers. She said, "Please?"

"No." He replied bluntly.

"Mina?" A familiar voice called out. Axis came running up to them and suddenly stopped, looking embarrassed. "Ack! I'm sorry!"

Mina smiled sheepishly and quickly stopped stroking Cain's hair as she looked at Axis.

"I… I just…" Axis stood up straight and quickly glanced from Cain to Mina. Cain looked thoroughly annoyed at him once again. "I was going to fulfill my second promise."

"Ah!" Mina exclaimed as she remembered what the second promise was – to meet her father. The High Priestess quickly shook her head.

"C'mon!" Axis beamed. He looked at Cain with a huge grin. "It's alright, isn't it, Cain? I'll have her back quickly."

The Assassin Cross shrugged and started walking away. Mina seemed surprised and looked from Cain to Axis. With a smile, Axis summoned another warp hole and asked Mina to go inside. The High Priestess looked worried, as if she didn't want to leave Cain, but Cain didn't seem to care.

"O…okay…" Mina said faintly as she stepped inside the warp hole, her figure disappearing after a couple of seconds.

"It's fine, Cain." Axis said, before he followed Mina inside. "I'm a man of my word, and I won't put her in danger."

Cain shrugged again, but Axis didn't see him. As soon as Axis was gone, Cain looked off to a dark path as a figure emitted. A tall figure of an assassin cross glared at Cain menacingly, and Cain stared back at him, his fists trembling.

"Be happy I gave you the favor of waiting until she was gone," Said Cain's father roughly.

…………

When Mina came to, she was in the halls of what seemed to be the Prontera castle. Axis gestured for her to hurry up as he said, "C'mon, while he's conscious. He's pretty much asleep these days."

Mina nodded, seeming nervous. She was going to meet her father for the first time. Axis opened a steel door laced with royal colors to a chamber. There was a huge bed and an old man lying down on it, breathing heavily. Several priests and knights surrounded the king, watching over him.

"Please give us a few minutes." Axis told the people. They all nodded and left the room. Axis turned around to glance at Mina, who was frozen in place. "What's wrong, Mina? King Tristan, you have a visitor."

"M-Mina…?" King Tristan repeated heavily. "I know that name…"

Axis nodded with a smile and gestured Mina to approach the bed. Mina was shaking as she slowly walked over, and peered into the eyes of the King. The King's eyes looked heavy and like he was about to sleep, and he peered at Mina with a curious face.

"Ah…" The King coughed. "You look just like your mother."

Mina nodded slowly, as she stared at her father for the first time. Axis was right; he looked awfully ill, as if he could pass away any moment now. Something inside Mina's chest swelled as she peered into the face of King Tristan. Happiness? She wasn't quite sure.

"King Tristan, meet your daughter." Axis said with a bow.

The King emitted what seemed to be a laugh from deep in his chest. "What are you talking about, boy? I've met her before. I was right beside her when she was born."

Axis smiled at the King and looked at Mina, who was still standing in a frozen manner. She seemed to be in shock in meeting her father for the first time, since she didn't even know his face, unless in formal pictures they took of the King.

"Thank goodness I met you once more." The King said gruffly. "I've been waiting all this time. It took Axis forever to get you here."

"Ahahaha." Axis laughed as he looked at Mina, who looked back at him questioningly. "When I met him this morning, I told him all about you, and he wouldn't stop pestering me."

Mina forced a laugh, and watched as the King gave her one last gentle smile before drifting back to sleep. Axis smiled sheepishly at her and watched as her shoulders trembled from emotion.

"Well, he's off again." Axis said softly as he gripped Mina's trembling shoulders. "He asked me to give you this. I think he wrote it years ago."

The High Priestess nodded as Axis handed her a letter. Axis led them out of the chamber, and the people from before entered again to accompany the king. They didn't go back to Juno right away, as they decided to sit by the courtyard while Mina could read her letter.

"First and second promise, fulfilled." Axis said with a sigh as he stretched. The two of them sat down on dainty benches. "One more to go."

Mina chuckled with a blush, as she unconsciously gripped the letter. Axis smiled at her and gestured her to read it. Faintly and nervously, she opened it and read it. She hadn't even uttered a word since they entered the chamber-Axis decided that she was still in shock from finally meeting her father.

Surprised, Axis looked down at her as she suddenly covered her eyes. He hadn't realized that she was actually crying until then. "Mina?"

"It's nothing, I'm sorry." Mina said, forcing a laugh. "I suppose I'm still in shock. Silly me, I'm so strange."

He shook his head in reply. "You're not. What does the letter say?"

"Not much…" Mina replied softly. "Just that he couldn't tell if this letter would ever be sent to me, and then he explained why I wasn't raised a princess."

"And why?" Axis asked curiously.

"Because," The priestess smiled at him genuinely. "My mom refused."

The High Priest nodded. Mina, after all, was a child born out of wedlock. There were rumors that King Tristan fell in love with a young sage, and even had a child with her. The scandal broke out, and Mina and her mother lived together without the King to prevent more rumors. Mina never even knew about this, because her mother hid it until the day she passed away and after. But it was all explained in the letter.

"He said that he would have loved to raise me like any other father would." Mina said. "But my mother thought it was better that I never found out I was a King's illegitimate child."

"Ah." Axis replied, as he leaned against the bench. "I sure hope you're not against what your mother thought."

Mina shook her head furiously. "No, of course not."

The High Priest stood up and summoned another warp hole. "Let's get back. Cain might be furious with me."

Nodding weakly, Mina stepped inside to find herself reappearing in front of the inn. Axis followed her after and led her to the door.

"Thank you, Axis." Mina said to him. "I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem." Axis replied. Mina's eyes widened as Axis suddenly leaned down, seemingly to kiss her on the lips this time. She suddenly brought up a hand to stop him. There were two reasons she did this—one, she didn't feel comfortable, and two, Cain was right behind them.

"S-sorry!" Mina exclaimed, her cheeks going red. "Ah! I'm so sorry!"

Axis blinked and stood up straight, seeming taken aback. Mina stared at the ground. What the heck was she thinking? This man had just gone through all that trouble to introduce her to the Valkyries, to introduce her to her own father, and now she was just pushing him away.

"I don't mind. I'm sorry." Axis said as he ruffled Mina's hair. He turned around and saw Cain, standing there and glaring at him. "Ah… you're wounded."

"Shut up." Cain growled. Mina stared at him the same way Axis was—confusion. His clothes were partly ripped and blood was gushing out of nearly every part of his body, and he was covered with cuts and bruises. It was as if he had just had a terrible fight and had to use up all his remaining power to even just walk to the inn.

"Cain!" Mina exclaimed. She rushed up to him just when his balance faltered, almost falling on her, but he roughly strained a foot to keep himself up.

"Do you need help? Mina might have a hard time treating you herself." Axis offered as he walked up to Mina and Cain.

"Get lost." Cain told Axis bluntly. Axis nodded, seeming offended.

"Take care, Mina." Axis muttered as he suddenly teleported out of there.

"Cain! Wait!" Mina called out as Cain pushed her aside and walked inside the inn. The inn was already dark and quiet, and everybody was probably already asleep. Mina ran after Cain up the stairs, even though he kept trying to push her away. She just wouldn't let him go. When he opened the door to his room, his smokie stared up at him in confusion, staring at his wounds.

"I don't need you." Cain told Mina bluntly as he plopped down on his bed and ripped of his sleeve. He winced as more blood came rushing out.

"Cain, stop it." Mina growled, as she shut the door behind her. She stared at the blood-drenched fox mask that he threw at a nearby desk. "Tell me what happened."

"You almost kissed that idiot, that's what happened." Cain muttered.

"No, I didn't." Mina replied bluntly as she sat down beside him and started healing his wounds. His eyelids were starting to falter, as if he was going to faint from exhaustion. Mina realized that he was using what was left of his stamina to stay conscious, and he seemed to be having a difficult time doing so. "Cain, if you don't tell me what happened right this moment—"

"He came." Cain replied bluntly. "He left me half-dead."

Mina's eyes widened as she nodded. It was true; he was almost on the verge of death as she examined the deep cuts on him. "Who's he?"

"Guild leader. My father."

The High Priestess nodded, and Cain stared at her as she suddenly leaned her forehead on his bare shoulder. "I'm sorry, it's because of me, isn't it?"

Cain shrugged, and Mina blinked as his weight suddenly gave. His head drooped and landed on her lap gingerly, and he was breathing heavily as she continued healing his wounds.

"You're an idiot, Cain." Mina growled as her hands roamed over his wounds, healing them. "These are the deepest cuts I've ever seen in my life."

She felt him shrug again, very faintly. His eyes were already shut, but he seemed to be listening to every word she uttered.

"Go to sleep, I'll heal you." Mina said.

"If that… high priest…" He said, clearly emphasizing the 'High Priest' with disgust. "If he touches you again, I'm going to kill him."

"Shut up, Cain." Mina replied. He shifted his weight a bit, as he used her lap to rest his head against. Not that he had a choice, he couldn't move properly.

He twitched when he suddenly heard sobs, as Mina momentarily stopped healing his wounds. This was only the second time he heard her cry. He muttered, "Why the hell are you crying? Shut up."

"Idiot… idiot… idiot…" The High Priestess repeated again and again as she stroked his hair with her hand. She leaned down and pressed her cheek against his, and he felt that it was wet with tears. "Cain, you idiot…"

"Shut up…"

She nodded between sobs, and held him tightly as he drifted off to sleep.

"Stupid idiot…" She repeated for the last time.

_**To Be Continued**_


	14. Mine

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

"Axis!" Mina said brightly as she opened the door to find the Prince standing there, waiting for her. It was late afternoon, and she wasn't exactly expecting his company, though he had been coming there every chance he could get for the past months. "Do you want to come in and have a drink? It's boiling out there."

Axis laughed and nodded as he followed Mina inside the house. He passed Cain on the way that ignored him completely. The assassin cross hadn't changed his attitude towards the priest even one bit.

"Actually, I'm quite busy… again, yeah." Axis told Mina. Mina blinked and looked up to him. He was stammering, which was very unlike of the prince.

"You okay?" The High Priestess asked, tilting her head a bit in question. They sat down on the couch as she handed him a glass of cold juice.

"Yeah." Axis replied as he forced another laugh. He buried his face in his hand and said, "I have to cut to the chase here."

Mina nodded with a smile and took a sip from her own drink. She suddenly blinked when Axis took her glass and placed it on the table, and he suddenly took hold of her hands.

"Huh?" Mina blinked.

"You're a very naïve person," Axis started, his cheeks going red. "This is my problem. My uncle wants me to marry some renowned daughter of some guy, and I don't really have a choice, unless, well…"

Mina smiled. "Yes?" She didn't seem to be getting the situation at all.

Axis blinked. What he was about to say was just going to be too sudden and so surreal, if even he wasn't sure if he knew what he was doing. "I told him I already had a fiancée, but that's only because I was planning to propose to you in the future."

The High Priestess's eyes widened as she suddenly grabbed back her hands and stared at him.

"Well, look, I've known you for months now and that's more than enough time to get to know someone." Axis gave a huge sigh of nervousness and peered into her eyes. "What I'm saying is, I need you to think this over, alright?"

"What the hell?" The familiar phrase came. But this time, it wasn't from Cain, but his partner, Seth. Seth had barged into the room as if he was eavesdropping from the other room. "Are you serious? Mina can't even tell you liked her! Hell, she can't even tell that someone who's been in love with her for years likes her."

"W-w-what?" Mina stammered.

Axis blinked and looked from Mina to Seth. Then he looked back at Mina. "I know this is so surreal, but I'm serious, Mina."

Mina's face was bright red as another figure took it's place beside Seth. Cain came slowly walking to the room and stood there, eyes transfixed on the high priestess. He seemed annoyed, as usual and of course.

"I'm sorry," Mina whispered to Axis. "But I don't think I can accept such a—"

"Wait, wait!" Axis cut in as he suddenly stood up. "Of course you can't think of a proper answer in minutes. I'll be back in a week, and I'm not trying to be arrogant here… I just want you to think things over."

"But, but-" Mina started.

"Please, Mina." Axis smiled at her.

The High Priestess looked up at him with a very unexplainable expression as she slowly nodded. She stared at the floor as the High Priestess thanked their hospitality and went off on his way.

"I can't believe him!" Seth bellowed as he started pacing around the room. Cain's smokie watched him go right and left, and it seemed like it was getting dizzy. "He just barges in here like that, I mean, Mina, do you even know the guy?"

"Well, actually…" Mina started as she twiddled her fingers. "I know him pretty well. He's been going here for months, like he said."

"Still!" Seth retorted. "You've got no mutual understanding or whatever, am I right! How can he just say something like that!"

"Why're you so affected?" Cain asked as he raised his eyebrow at his partner.

Seth stopped in his tracks and suddenly pointed an accusing finger at Cain. Mina glanced up as Seth yelled, "Cain, you idiot, I'm speaking for you because you can't ask the questions yourself."

"What the hell…" Cain muttered under his breath. He suddenly shot Mina a glare, and Mina went right back to staring at the ground. She didn't seem to understand why she was in such a predicament.

"Hm. I wonder what Maki would say if he found out." Seth said.

"Why would Maki care?" Mina asked, tilting her head like she always did.

"He's going to go berserk."

"I suppose. He's pretty protective of me and Rai." Mina shrugged.

Cain and Seth stared at Mina ludicrously. It didn't seem possible for someone not to realize that Maki was in love with her, this being since it was probably the most obvious thing that went on there.

Seth was right, though. The moment Maki found out, he _did_ go berserk. A couple of days after Axis proposed, Rai and Maki came to visit their house, and Seth had told the Paladin immediately.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Maki bellowed as he slammed down on the wooden dining table. Mina winced and stared at the Paladin. She actually thought he was overreacting a bit, but she didn't say anything. "No! No! No!"

"She didn't say yes, dolt." Rai cut in. "Stop being such a drama king."

"Shut up, Rai." The paladin retorted. "Wait. Mina, what are you planning to say anyway?"

Mina shrugged. "I don't know."

"See!" Maki quickly said in reply. "If you're in love, you'd know it, and you don't know it, so you're not in love."

"Whatever, Maki!" Rai cut in as she pushed her friend away from Mina, who was starting to flush. "There are times when you don't know you're in love! Or times when you think you're in love, and it just turns out to be in-fat-u-a-tion!" She said, emphasizing every syllable.

Seth laughed. Though the assassin cross didn't think Maki was simply infatuated with Mina, Rai still had her thing for pointing out her arguments.

"What do you think, Cain?" Rai suddenly asked the assassin cross who was being quiet. "Do you think it's alright for Mina to be with that guy?"

Cain shrugged and shifted his glance to the wall.

"This really isn't our business, if you think about it." Seth suddenly said.

Maki and Rai eyed him. The paladin said, "If it isn't, why'd you tell us?"

"Well, because Mina would be too shy to tell you." Seth pointed out as he gestured towards the blushing High Priestess. "And it looks like she'll need your help."

"No!" Maki demanded. "No, I won't allow it!"

"It's her choice, shut up." Rai hissed at the paladin. "Besides, you're never going to get her, so give up."

Maki's face went red as he glanced around quickly to see if Mina had heard that. It was just his luck that when the words escaped Rai's lips, Mina had left for the kitchen, just in time. Not that she would have understood it anyway, of course.

"But, you know," Rai said to Maki as she sat down on a chair, legs crossed. "If you really like Mina, and you've got no chance, least you can do is barter for the guy who you think is the next best thing."

Maki blinked, as he realized what the gypsy meant. He glanced at Cain who stared back at him in a confused manner.

The Paladin slammed his fist on the table again. "The prince _must_ get Mina."

…………

"Hey, Mina!" Rai called out as she suddenly ran towards the High Priestess. Mina turned around to see the gypsy standing beside her and looking at her brightly. "Let's talk about stuff."

Mina blinked. What was Rai talking about?

"Let's see… Axis is coming tomorrow, right?" Rai asked her. Mina nodded. She hadn't forgotten about it, and it still troubled her that she didn't know the best way to reject Axis. She just didn't feel that way about Axis, yet she kept telling everyone that she didn't know if she liked him, just not to hurt anyone's feelings.

"Yeah." Mina added. "Tomorrow."

Rai nodded and pushed Mina to force her to sit down on the couch. She started pacing around the room. "Mina, have you ever been in love!"

The High Priestess shrugged. "I don't know…"

Rai rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Do you know brotherly love feels?"

Mina's face lit up and she nodded. "Yes. It's how I feel for Maki!"

"Ah. That would hurt him." Rai said softly, and Mina glanced up at her since she didn't understand what Rai had said. Rai shook her head and continued, "Do you feel the same way for Axis, the same way you feel for Maki?"

The High Priestess seemed to contemplate on it for a moment. Softly, she said, "Yes."

"And how about Cain, is that how you feel about him?"

"Ah!" Standing up, Mina's face went red. "What does he have to do with this!"

Rai nodded, a satisfied smirk on her face. "You're falling for Cain, ain'tcha?"

"No!" Mina lied.

Just then, Cain's smokie walked up to them and Mina picked it up in her hands.

"I don't get why anyone would actually like such a grouch." Rai mumbled under her breath. "I mean, you. You're every guy's dreams, and you'd settle for some guy who doesn't even like you."

Nodding weakly, Mina stared at the smokie. She was too embarrassed to tell anyone that Cain had told her that she was 'his'. That would amount to 'liking', right?

"Maybe it's like this smokie." Mina smiled as she hugged the smokie, which cuddled up in her arms. "He treats it really nicely when nobody's looking, and for some reason, it likes that."

Rai raised an eyebrow at Mina. Was Mina trying to hint something to her? Mina laughed sheepishly and bid Rai goodnight, and said she was going to return the smokie to Cain. She walked to the kitchen and found Cain drinking a glass of water. She slowly walked up to him.

"Cain!" Mina smiled as she approached him. "Hey."

Cain eyed her, not sure on why she was so happy. Was she actually going to accept the Prince's proposal? The assassin cross flinched as she reached up and gingerly placed the smokie on his head.

Mina watched as Cain started walking towards the hall to get to his room. He had been avoiding her even more than usual, and she assumed that he was angry with her again.

"Hey."

Glancing at him, Mina observed that he had muttered that word and stopped in his tracks, his back facing her. He seemed to want to blurt out something, but just couldn't find the words. Cain was clenching his fists in frustration.

"Are you going to say yes to that idiot?" Cain muttered. "It's pretty stupid since you'll become a princess, and this time, to the public."

Mina blinked. She hadn't realized that one bit. The High Priestess said with sincere innocence, "But this time, they wouldn't be after my life, would they?"

Cain glared at her, which made her flinch. He muttered intensely, "_This_ time?"

"I… I m-meant…"

Before she could explain herself, Cain walked out of the room. She did it again—she made him upset without meaning to. Mina sighed to herself.

They didn't know that the usual trio was eavesdropping. They had their ears pressed against the wall, and Rai was pushing Maki off the wall, because according to her, his ear 'took up so much space'.

"She's… she's really in love with Cain, isn't she?" Seth observed.

"Shockingly." Rai replied sarcastically. The two of them glanced at Maki, who stared back at them. Rai said with utmost forwardness, as she pointed a finger at him, "No hope."

…………

The next evening, Axis had come knocking on their door. It was already late as they stood in the streets, Mina supposedly giving her answer. She had never been in such a predicament before, and it made her nervous to no end. It didn't help that the usual trio were _again_ eavesdropping, and they weren't doing a very good job. It was queer, since Seth was an assassin cross. He didn't seem to make an effort to conceal himself.

"Ah…" Axis said as he looked at the three who were hiding behind a bush. Mina smiled at him sheepishly and shot him an apologizing look. Seth seemed to be shaking with laughter, and Rai was kicking his shin, which was making the bush shake horribly.

Mina smiled at Axis as he spoke up.

"It's alright. You don't have to answer, I know anyway."

Mina's eyes widened. "You do?"

"Of course!" Axis replied quickly. "It's pretty obvious, Mina."

"It is!" The High Priestess fidgeted, not really understanding. "What is!"

"Well, let's see…" The High Priest said as he brought up his fingers to count the reasons. He shot her a gentle smile as he started explaining. "I didn't give you enough time, but I didn't really have a choice. I just wanted to know what you thought rather than not telling you at all. That's just what I believe in. I don't mind in getting shot down, as long as I did it."

"You hear that, Mak—_Ouch!í" _Said the 'bush'. The said plant sounded a lot like Rai.

"And I can tell when a girl's in love." Said Axis as he ruffled her hair. "And I'm just not the lucky person."

"Everyone's saying I'm in love…" Mina muttered under her breath. Was she? She couldn't tell.

Axis chuckled at her reply and nudged her chin up to stare into her face. He gingerly cupped her face. "Cain's a pretty lucky guy."

Just then, the said Assassin Cross's voice came. Rai, Maki and Seth's stares glanced around as they heard him go, "What the hell are you doing?" He was staring at Rai, Maki and Seth who were hunched before the bush. "That's the most stupid hiding place you can find."

"Shut up, we're good!" Seth replied, roaring with quiet laughter. He was obviously making fun of the idea that they were even there.

Cain looked off to the direction they were looking and spot Axis cupping Mina's face. His expression turned into sudden frustration as Mina slowly shook Axis's hands off uncomfortably.

"He's not." Mina said softly. The trio, now including Cain who was pretending not to care, strained their hearing.

"He so is." Axis grinned. "In fact, tell him." He suddenly pointed over at Cain who was staring at them.

"Ah!" Mina exclaimed.

"Hey, Mina, didn't know you were there!" Said Rai as she stood up and waved at Mina. Maki stood up and waved at Mina in an embarrassed manner.

Mina didn't understand them, though, because she was too embarrassed to pay attention. Had Cain heard her?

"Idiots." Cain mumbled under his breath as he started walking towards the house.

…………

"Loser! Sucker!"

"Shut up, Rai!" Maki yelled as he tried to muffle Rai's screams. Rai seemed drunk, but she was just incredibly hyper, and she couldn't help but tease the paladin for he _finally _lost.

"This is embarrassing…" Mina mumbled as she buried her red face into her hands. Seth roared with laughter again.

"Well, it's no question where who's sleeping with who tonight, eh?" Seth winked at Mina. This time, it was Rai who roared with laughter.

"W-w-what!" Mina exclaimed in even more embarrassment. She couldn't tell why they all wanted to tease her this way.

"Let's go, Rai." Seth suddenly grabbed the gypsy's wrist. "Time to sleep. Good night, Maki."

"Night, loser!" Rai roared.

Maki rolled his eyes and plopped down on the couch. Mina looked down at him.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to stay with Cain again?" Maki asked her curiously. She flinched and stared at the ground.

"But I'm so embarrassed…" Mina whispered.

"You can stay on the couch, and I can stay on the floor, if you want."

Mina slowly shook her head. He looked up at her questioningly, though she wouldn't tell him the reason why she couldn't accept his offer. What was she to say, 'Cain would get angry.' Why? 'Because he'd get extremely jealous.'

No. That was too much.

The High Priestess bid the Paladin good night and walked towards Cain's room. She gingerly knocked. No reply. She knocked again, still no reply. Was he that angry? Mina opened his door to find it dark and empty, lest the smokie which was sleeping on the floor. Her eyes widened as she wondered where Cain was.

'_Maybe he's really angry, this time…?'_ The words rang in Mina's thoughts as she sat down on his bed and hugged her knees. After a while of waiting, he still didn't come to the room. Sighing, Mina lay down on the bed anyway and hugged his pillow, taking in his scent. Even though he wasn't there, just his scent made her feel secure.

"Move over." His voice suddenly said. Mina's eyes widened as she sat up straight in surprise. He was peering down at her as she tentatively moved to the further side. The High Priestess didn't even hear him enter the room. Just as usual, he was the master of Stealth, not like Seth who seemed to mock it.

"I'm sorry!" Mina said right away. "Because Seth and Rai took the other room again, and you got angry the last time I wanted to stay with Maki…"

She felt him shrug.

The High Priestess felt terrible for some reason. She couldn't tell why she felt so secure with his scent, and as he hand lay on his back innocently. He was so warm, and she just liked it so much.

"Cain, I'm so sorry…" Mina squeaked as she played with his back, her fingers trailing on the cloth of his shirt innocently. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Hell." Cain replied gruffly.

"It's just that you're always angry, and I don't know what to do anymore, but I'm seriously trying to do everything to please you… though I don't know why. Ah, I'm blabbering again."

"Shut up." Cain said. Mina nodded and stared as he suddenly turned around. "You talk too much."

"No. You just talk too rarely." Mina replied bluntly. "Honestly, Cain, open your mouth a bit more—"

The High Priestess's eyes suddenly widened as Cain growled and pressed his lips on hers. She tried to yell out his name in question, but he wouldn't let go off her.

"Stupid priestess…" Cain growled against her lips. "I don't get you."

"I don't get you!" Mina retorted. He rolled his eyes and pushed away. Mina's cheeks were bright red as she brought a finger up to touch her lips, which were tingling uncontrollably. She wouldn't admit it, but sometimes in the past, she had actually wondered how it was like to have Cain's lips on hers.

It was great.

Cain seemed frustrated, as usual. Mina was such a tease, displaying herself right in front of him, yet he could never find the right way to approach her. She was always right next to him, but an invisible barrier kept her away. _All the time._

"Cain?" Mina whispered as she pressed her palm against his temple. He glanced at her as she suddenly shot him a smile. "I'm really falling for you."

Silence.

"A-ah…" Cain replied, not really knowing what else to say.

This time, it was Mina who pressed her lips against his. It was much more gentle than his frustrated one, and she had her hand planted gently on his face. At first, he was surprised, and even she was at her actions. She was even more shocked when Cain suddenly pinned her down again, just like he did many times before.

"Damn you." Cain growled against her neck as he suddenly started trailing kisses on her warm skin.

"Ah!" Mina replied in surprise as her hands trembled in nervousness. So this _was_ how it was like to have Cain kiss you. It wasn't like anything she had imagined. When she snapped out of her reverie, she realized that she had sat up straight and was holding Cain's shoulders tightly as he nibbled on her skin.

"Damn you…" Cain repeated. She didn't know why he was cursing her, but she didn't mind. What mattered was what were happening, and the fact that it were happening so fast.

Not that she minded, either.

She was finally, officially, _Cain's._

_**To Be Continued**_


	15. The Morning After

_**Second Glance**_

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

The sun's rays were seeping through the window, cascading unto the room and brightening up the place. A smokie was running around the room in an excited manner, as if it couldn't believe it's own eyes. On the bed sat a black haired teenaged boy who was clutching his face in his hands, and he was half-naked save for the pants he had just put on.

"Damn…" He muttered under his breath as he furiously buried his face into his hands. 'I got out of hand…'

On the bed, right beside him was a young high priestess with a blanket draped over her. She was sleeping peacefully and her shoulders were bare as her chest, which was covered only by the blanket, heaved up and down in time with her breathing. Her face looked so serene, and Cain cursed himself for doing something so sinful to such a person.

"_Ah… Cain…!" Mina gasped as Cain nibbled on the lobe of her ear. She was trembling as she slowly grasped his hair with her hands, not knowing what to do. Cain looked up at her intensely. "Cain…!" She repeated._

"_What?" The assassin cross growled against her skin. _

"_I… I…" Mina seemed to say under her breath, not knowing how to blurt out just exactly what she was going to say. Cain looked up at her in a questioning manner. The girl didn't seem to know how to say it, and her grip on his hair slowly relaxed as he sat up straight and pulled away from her._

"…_Sorry." He muttered as he moved away from her. Cain grabbed her wrists and pried her hands away from his head._

_Her eyes widened, as she seemed alarmed by his reaction. "Wait, no, that's not what I meant!" Mina exclaimed. Suddenly, she sharply kissed Cain's lips as his strong hands were still holding up her wrists. "No, I was just nervous! I'm sorry!" She said quickly against him, and she felt him shiver from her breath. _

"_Your loss." Cain replied as he pinned her down again. She gasped again, and in a second, he was trying to pry her High Priestess uniform open. He growled as his clumsy finger fumbled with the clasps and buttons, not really understanding. "What the hell…" He grumbled._

"_Just… rip it." Mina whispered, surprising even herself. Cain raised an eyebrow at her, and in a moment, a ripping sound was heard as Mina's face turned even brighter at the compromising situation._

"Damn, damn, damn…" Cain muttered. On the ground were a heap of clothes, belonging to both him and Mina.

Mina's eyes slowly opened, and she blinked a bit to get everything in focus. Something felt different. For one thing, she could feel the fabric of the blanket latching on her skin, as if she wasn't wearing any clothes at all. Wait… she _wasn't_ wearing any clothes. Her eyes snapped open as she realized her predicament.

The High Priestess looked around quickly to see the assassin cross cursing to himself, and he didn't seem to notice that she was already awake. Her heart suddenly started beating fast, as she remembered just exactly what had happened the night before. Her cheeks went red again and she stared at Cain's back.

His body was so full of scars. She didn't see it the night before since it was dark, but she was pretty sure that she had felt varying on his skin. Some were rough from fighting, and there were parts which felt like scars that had probably also come from fighting.

Wait, why was he cursing to himself?

"Cain?" Mina whispered as she tried her best to conceal herself with the blanket. Cain flinched and arched his head to look at her. "Are you cursing? What's wrong?" She reached out her hand and gently grasped his arm.

He furiously shook his head in reply. Mina nodded and sat up straight, still clutching the blanket around her.

"Clothes… please…" Mina whispered as she stared at the wall in an embarrassed manner.

"They're… uh, ripped." Cain replied. "Sorry."

The High Priestess's face went red again as she nodded furiously. Of course, how could she have forgotten? She had asked Cain to just rip right through since he was having such a hard time fumbling with the buttons. She heard Cain rummaged with some of the clothes and he handed her a white shirt that he was wearing when he came to the room the night before.

"Thanks." Mina replied weakly. She held the shirt for a while, and she was too shy to let go of the blanket to be able to put it on. Why was she so embarrassed? They had just spent a night together.

"Sorry." Cain muttered again. He realized she wasn't comfortable with him looking, and he looked away quickly to stare at the berserk Smokie.

He was surprised as frail hands suddenly wrapped around him from behind, and latched to his front. He felt the soft fabric of his own shirt against his back as she embraced him tightly and leaned her face against his skin. Cain shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Please don't be angry…" Mina whispered as she trailed light circles on his skin. He blinked and was about to reply when the door suddenly burst open and a dancer and assassin cross appeared by the door.

"Happy Rai's day—hell!" Came Rai's exclaiming voice as she saw the scene before her. Mina quickly let go of Cain and covered her face with her hands. Cain glared at the dancer and assassin cross as the two of them boldly entered the room. Rai screamed, "Oh yeah! Finally!"

"Wah… ah…" Mina stammered as she avoided the stares of the two intruders. "Rai… uh… Rai, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." Rai replied with a smirk as she prodded Mina's shoulders with her finger; for no apparent reason. Beside her, Seth was patting Cain on the shoulder and an audible 'I'm happy for you' could be heard.

From the couch, a sleepy paladin fell from the couch as Rai's screech suddenly ran through the whole house. Cain had grabbed some katars and lunged them at Seth, who started laughing loudly as he ran out of the room, Rai following suit.

"Idiots." Cain grumbled under his breath in frustration as he kicked the door shut. Actually, it was his fault. Why didn't he lock it in the first place?

"It's Rai's birthday…" Mina said as she suddenly realized the fact. "I forgot about that."

……………

"Man, man…" Maki said in repetition as he walked around the huge halls of the Prontera Castle. Nobody had told him exactly what was going on with Cain and Mina (since Cain's glares forbid it), so he wasn't in that bad a mood _yet._ He had to do some errands in the castle before he went back to celebrate Rai's birthday with everyone else.

"Morning, Maki." Said Axis as he passed by the Paladin. Maki nodded politely to the prince as he rushed by, papers in hand.

"Get out of my way." Said a scarlet-haired girl as she shoved Maki aside quickly. Maki's eyes widened as he stopped to get a good view of the said girl.

"You…" Maki said as he peered at her. It was the assassin cross whom Cain and Seth knew, the same one they had spoken to back in Juno. Her hair said all there was about her name, which was Scarlet.

"Paladin." Scarlet said out loud.

Maki rolled his eyes. What the? "Assassin cross?" he said with dry sarcasm. "Didn't think you'd work in a place like this."

"I don't!" She retorted quickly.

"Pray tell, what on Midgar are you doing here?"

"I," Scarlet said bluntly as she stared at Maki through stern orbs. "Am here to take care of some old guy named John Coltin."

Maki kept quiet for a while. John Coltin, uncle of Axis Coltin, the man behind the puppet prince. The arrogant, old man whom Maki detested with all his heart, maybe just as much as he detested Cain.

"Why would you tell me this? Don't you think I'll be able to stop you?" Maki asked. Not that he would—he was actually waiting for the said man to go goodbye from the physical world.

Scarlet looked him up and down, to the tons of paperwork in his arms. He didn't look the least intimidating with them, and to say out her point, her reply was a simple smirk.

"Arrogant assassins…" Maki grumbled under his breath.

"Pathetic paladins."

The Paladin frowned at her and looked her up and down. "You wouldn't bet on getting that man. This army isn't as pathetic as you think."

"You don't make out your point, from where I'm standing." Scarlet said with a grin as he passed him. Maki watched her retreating form, and as if he didn't see anything, he went on with his way.

And there was a hint of a smile on the corner of his lips.

……………

"Happy birthday, happy birthday!" Seth sand in a loud and out-of-tune voice as he playfully danced around the streets with Rai. Rai, with a huge grin, twirled the both of them around as if it wasn't broad daylight and a bunch of people weren't giving them strange looks.

Seth and Rai were the type of people who didn't care about what others thought; all they wanted was to have fun. Rai was finally seventeen years old, but she acted as childish as ever.

"Here!" Mina said cheerfully as she ran up to the two, bags of food in her arms. She had gone off to the market to buy food to celebrate, and Cain, smokie on head, followed after her in a slow stride. He didn't really seem to care about what was happening.

"Yes!" Rai said as she jumped up and down as Mina started setting the table in their house. "I'm finally seventeen. In a year, I'll finally be legal!"

"Not like it would make much of a difference." Seth said with a wink to Rai. Rai grinned wildly at his comment and playfully smacked him on the side.

Soon enough, a paladin came right through the door with a huge grin on his face.

"You look happy." Mina stated at the paladin.

"Of course he is!" Rai commented in a loud voice. "It's my birthday. Everybody should be happy!"

"Shut up, Rai." Pushing her away, Maki looked at Cain and Seth with a huge grin. "I met your Scarlet friend in the castle."

Seth and Cain looked up at him, blinking. Seth spoke up, "And that makes you happy… why?"

Maki was going to say that it was because someone was actually paying to get a certain old John Coltin dead, but Rai cut him off by pushing him away and bringing out her own cake.

"Hey, I want to see happy faces!" Rai exclaimed as she nudged Cain roughly on the side. Cain looked at her weirdly, as if she had just asked him to grow wings. "Man, after spending a night with Mina, you're _still_ not happy?"

Silence.

"W-what?" Maki asked as his face faltered. Cain's face went red and Mina shot Rai a glare, but it came out as a very embarrassed look. Seth laughed loudly and Rai didn't seem the least bit bothered by what she had said. The Paladin, Maki, looked at everyone's faces, trying to read their expressions—alas, he wasn't very good at it.

"Thanks." Mina said weakly as Seth handed her a slice of cake.

"Cheer up, Mina." Seth said to her in a low voice and with a grin. "Both you and Cain look like you both regret what happened so much."

Mina's face shot up and she stole a glance at Cain, whose smokie was wrestling him for some cake. He did look more upset than ever, as he didn't even do anything to stop his smokie from munching on his cake. Why was he so upset in the first place? He was the one who initiated everything. If he didn't like what happened, then he shouldn't have started it at all.

Wait—what if it was her fault he was upset? Did she do it wrong?

Rai stared queerly at Mina. For some reason, Mina looked like she had just gotten ill from all her thinking as her face went scarlet. She looked more embarrassed than ever, and in a predicament she couldn't understand.

"Tastes great." Maki grumbled under his breath as he took a bite from the cake. He was obviously upset with what happened.

Mina and Rai went of to the kitchen, and the three men were left in the dining table. Seth eyed Cain with a questioning look, and Maki eyed him with anger.

The paladin seemed to curse under his breath. Cain shot him a glare and quickly said, "Shut up."

"What's wrong, Cain? In denial?" Seth asked. He seemed to be in serious sympathy. "Are you in denial or something?"

"Don't see why he should be…" Maki muttered.

"Wasn't it good?" Seth asked with a snicker. The paladin's eyes widened at the vulgar question of Seth, and Cain responded with a 'what the hell' expression.

Seth wasn't getting any decent answers from the assassin cross, even though he wanted to know why the assassin cross seemed even more frustrated than ever. It was a secret anymore, what they did. In the kitchen, the two girls were having a similar discussion, except this time, Mina wasn't as secretive as Cain.

"I don't know why he's so angry." Mina whispered to Rai as she wiped a dish clean. "I think I did something wrong."

Rai blinked. "Wrong? How can anything in that situation go wrong?"

Mina went red.

"Just talk to him!" Rai said in frustration. "Agh, you two make me so angry! So stupid!"

"Wha?"

"Okay, that's it!" Rai forcibly took the dish from Mina's hand and placed it on the counter. Suddenly, she started pushing the High Priestess to the other room. As soon as she threw the door open, the three men looked up, confused.

"What are you doing!" Mina exclaimed as Rai pushed Maki out of his chair. Maki blinked as he was pushed aside and Rai made Mina sit down. Seth stood up also as Rai pushed him out of his chair. The gypsy shoved Maki and Seth to a corner and then pointed down at Mina who was looking at her in disbelief, then at Cain who was looking at her with annoyance. Rai didn't care.

"You!" Rai said loudly at Mina.

"W-what?" Mina said weakly.

"And you!" Rai pointed at Cain.

Cain stared at her in more annoyance.

"I'm fed up with you two never telling each other anything!" Rai screamed. Mina winced as the gypsy raised her voice. It had been awhile since she had seen her friend like this, and she only went into this mood when she was truly frustrated with something.

"Rai, what're you doing?" Maki asked, blinking.

"Stay out of this!" Rai gave Maki a glare. "You've got nothing to do with this."

Seth looked at the gypsy with a sheepish smile. She also didn't have anything to do with Cain and Mina's relationship.

"Get out, please." Rai said with a grin at Maki and Seth, hands on her hips. "Let's give them some time to think on why they're both in denial."

"This is stupid." Cain suddenly said as he stood up. He shoved his smokie in Mina's arms and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Mina said out loud as she followed Cain's retreating figure.

"What was that?" Maki raised his eyebrow at the gypsy. "I don't think that was good idea, Rai."

"What are you talking about?" The gypsy replied with an air of victory. "It was perfect. Now they're out and they have no choice but to talk about it, since I already raised the topic."

Seth nodded. Rai had a point.

……………

"Stupid gypsy…" Cain muttered under his breath as Mina caught up with him. He glanced sideward at Mina who was looking up at him questioningly. "What the hell did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her anything!" Mina said truthfully.

Silence. Cain ignored Mina's reply and walked off towards the exit of Izlude. Mina blinked as she followed Cain, who went out the gate. It was already getting dark and it was a bit cold already, and Cain stopped outside the gate, where there was cool grass. He plopped down on the grass and Mina gingerly sat down beside him.

He gave Mina a 'what are you doing here' expression, but the high priestess ignored him. She played with the smokie a bit and seemed on the verge of asking him a question. He eyed her queerly, and they sat in silence.

"Sorry." Mina said under her breath. "My fault."

Cain blinked. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry if I did anything to make you angry." Mina said in a louder voice. "Rai told me to just tell you how I felt, so there."

The assassin cross shrugged. "What did you do, then?"

Silence.

"I don't know." Mina replied.

"My fault." Cain grumbled. The High Priestess looked up at him in a curious way. "I couldn't stop myself. It wasn't right, what I did… wasn't it?"

Mina looked at him. Huh? Was that what he was thinking about? She didn't even think that he'd trouble something like that. It just didn't seem like him.

"Its things like that which makes me sure I'm in love with you." Said Mina's voice. "You know, stuff that you're so unsure of… that, well. It makes me know you care in your own way."

Cain looked at her weirdly. What?

The assassin cross was taken in surprise as the high priestess suddenly tackled him with a tight hug. He was sent back on the grass with a young girl holding him around the chest, and she smiled at him gingerly. Just her smile sent all his doubts away.

Yeah, the assassin cross was in love, even though he wouldn't admit it. It was obvious.

And it didn't help that her scent was making his mind go haywire.

……………

Back in the house, a gypsy was dancing around. Seth and Maki looked at her in question. Seth looked amused at everything, while the Paladin on the other hand, was… annoyed at everything. As if he was angry at the whole world.

Well, not really. He was just angry at a certain man named Cain.

"I win, I win!" Rai sang as she danced around.

"How do you know it even went right?" Maki rolled his eyes.

"Because I knew it from the first time I saw them together!" Rai replied in an obvious kind of way.

_**The End**_

**_(For now.)_**

**A/N: **Sorry if the end's sooo not right. : I don't know any better way to write it, since I honestly couldn't think of anything else. I'm going to go through a lot in the future, I mean, correcting typos and stuff.

I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone. 


	16. Author's Note

Hi, guys. I would just want to redirect everyone to

http // www fanfiction net / s / 2949955 / 1 / Second Glance Untold Stories

which is the sequel to this fic. That's all, and thanks for everything. This note may be somewhat late since I wrote the start of the sequel a long time ago, but I'm still getting requests to "write a sequel", so I thought I might as well place this up, anyway. ( :

P.S. If pressing backspace to get rid of all those spaces is too much of a hassle, then just click on my profile name if you're interested. 


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